


TMNT: A Ghost of a Chance

by suthnmeh



Category: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (TV 2012), Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - All Media Types
Genre: Angst, Canon Compliant, Comedy, Drama, F/M, Fluff, Funny, Ghosts, M/M, Nerdiness, Non-Canon Relationship, Post-Canon Fix-It, References to Canon, Revenge, Science Fiction, Time Travel
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-10-15
Updated: 2018-12-28
Packaged: 2019-01-17 23:50:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 15
Words: 86,552
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12376689
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/suthnmeh/pseuds/suthnmeh
Summary: After the Kraang invasion, New York is back on its feet and Karai is recovered. Now that the family is whole again, it’s time to start new projects and make some important decisions. But the appearance of a new ninja clan and a group of unexpected visitors from another time flip the Hamatos’ lives upside down, once again perturbing their new-found peace.***Set a few months after "The Deadly Venom". Rated T for language and some adult themes. Nothing too explicit. Sci-Fi, time travel, drama, family and romance. Apriltello, Leorai and mild Rasey.***Illustrations included! :DDDD





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> We started writing this story two and a half years ago, and now it's coming to AO3! Looking back, it's amazing to us how much our writing has improved since then.
> 
> This story is basically our idea of the perfect TMNT multi-episode arc, with all the adventure, sci-fi, horror, romance, family and comedy content we like to see in our Ninja Turtles. That's probably why it grew into this huge monster of a fanfic. And we are so proud of our gigantic baby.
> 
> This fanfic won Best Action/Adventure-2nd Place, Best Donatello-3rd Place, Best Canon Ally (Karai)-3rd Place, Best Multi-chapter-2nd Place and was nominated for Best Comedy in the 2016 TMNT Fanfiction Competition.  
> It also won Most in-Character Donatello and was nominated for Most Interesting Canon Ally (Casey Jones) in the 2017 TMNT Universal Fanfic Competition.
> 
> We know this chapter is a bit long, but don't worry, next chapters will be more manageable^^

 

“Itadakimasu!”

The word resounded around the small shop, pronounced by eight different mouths at the same time at different levels of accuracy, and even before the last echo faded there were greedy plinkings of chopsticks on ceramic plates and various murmurs of delight.

It was after closing time at the noodle shop and Murakami still had customers over, although they weren’t customers so much as guests. They wouldn’t be paying tonight. Tonight dinner was on him. The curtains were drawn and the entrance door was locked. With that one word, dinner had officially begun.

It had been more than a year since that night that the turtles came to his restaurant right in the nick of time, as usual, and saved him from the Purple Dragons, and then many times over. He owed his friends his life, so a bit of food was really no big deal, even when -of course being the turtles- it was quite the generous bit of food. It was a special occasion; finally he got to meet their sensei!

The way his sons had described him, this man must have been a thing to behold, had he been able to use his own eyes. He could not, but he could still _see_ him. When he entered the shop, Murakami was able to hear the light clicking of claws on his floorboards, and the brushing of his tail as he walked. By the sound of it, he was wearing a long kimono of sorts made of some tough yet downy material. The smell was a confirmation that he lived in the same place that his sons did, but also carried a clear scent of Sencha tea and sweet incense. Jasmine. And he liked his voice; it was both imposing and nurturing, and had an elegant baritone quality to it.

“Murakami-san, I hope my sons weren’t too insisting. I assure you I had no intention of dragging you into such complications.”

And this rat man was also very well mannered, the traditional japanese way. He reminded him of his parents’ village back in Japan. It felt good being able to practice his own language for once.

“It’s no complication! It’s my pleasure!” Murakami said cheerfully, adopting a gesture of pure self-satisfaction. “Nothing makes me happier than to have your family sitting at my bar, and to finally be able to meet you, Splinter-san.”

The young turtle at his side gave Splinter a triumphant grin. “Seee?”

Splinter gave Michelangelo an amused roll of his eyes before turning back to the old man.

“Arigato” he said, making a small courteous bow of his head before remembering that the other would not be able to see that. He rectified and cleared his throat. “I don’t leave our home often, but they were very persistent. It seems the idea of us meeting was very thrilling to them. I can see why. It’s nice to speak with someone from my old country.”

“Same here” Murakami agreed, a clear pinch of nostalgia in his tone of voice. “Now, I’m sure you’ve tried my pizza gyoza, but how about a more traditional japanese home-cooked meal with a bit of the finest sake to go with that?”

The smile on Splinter’s snout spread wider at the sight of the dish in Murakami’s hands and his whiskers wiggled with anticipated delight. He couldn’t remember the last time he had a real Japanese meal.

“Smells wonderful.”

“I assure you it tastes better,” Murakami added proudly as he poured the warm sake on the tiny _sakazuki_ cup and placed it on the table in front of Splinter. As soon as his sensei raised the porcelain cup with the clear liquid, contemplating the fine craftsmanship, the young turtle in the orange bandana bolted in his seat to look at it more closely.

“What’s that?”

And before Splinter could answer, the purple-clad turtle sitting a few seats down the bar beat him to it.

“That’s sake. The Japanese brew it from fermented rice” Donatello happily explained.

“So it’s rice juice?”

“It’s not rice juice! It’s a very potent liquor!”

Michelangelo gave a loud gasp of excitement.

“Can I try some?”

“Absolutely not!” Splinter said, holding the cup out of reach of his son’s greedy hands. “The last thing you need, Michelangelo, is for alcohol to further your lack of inhibition.”

“Well, can _we_ try it?” asked the turtle in red sitting next to Mikey.

“Not until you’re 21, Raphael.”

And as though voicing Raphael’s disappointment, the young human boy in the paint-stained clothes leaned in to speak, bumping shoulders with the red-haired girl in yellow next to him.

“Come on, Master Splinter! Every parent lets their children take a sip at Christmas, or New Year’s, and stuff like that.”

“What you and your family do in your own time is none of my concern, Mr. Jones” Splinter said, referring to Casey in the way he did when he was in strict japanese dad mode. “But I can’t let you indulge in illegal activities on my watch.”

“Aw, man, but I’m almost 20 already. That would make it almost legal in Japan.”

“No” Splinter said sternly with a finality that left no place for a reproach, and then he finally took the cup to his lips and sipped.

“He’s not wrong, though,” Donnie admitted to whoever would listen. Normally that wouldn’t include many peole, but today’s subject _was_ alcohol. “In many countries people can drink at the age of 18. The lowest legal drinking age is 16 in some European provinces, and in Ukraine it’s actually legal to give your child alcohol at the age of 5 as long as it’s on private premises.”

Casey blew a loud raspberry.

“This blows. When did we get stuck with the suckier drinking age?”

“The law is there for a reason, pea brain. Alcohol can be a very dangerous drug,” Donatello retorted in exactly the tone of voice that Casey couldn’t stand, the kind that made him feel like he was being lectured.

Mikey cheered, wide-eyed.

“Cool, so if we went on vacation there right now we could drink alcohol?”

“Psh-yeah. We’ll just put on a trenchcoat and take the next transatlantic bus there” Raphael scoffed.

“Actually,” Leonardo said from his seat next to the Japanese girl in the leather jacket, “Might I make a petition to never let Mikey drink even after he turns 21?”

All brothers immediately hollered in unison.

“Aye!”

“Where do I sign?”

Mikey gave them all a pouty face and a pair of narrowed eyes full of hurt.

At the far end of the bar, the girl in leather jacket leaned in close to Leo.

“I’ve had sake. It isn’t all that”, Karai whispered in his ear and as usual he couldn’t be sure if she was bluffing or not. But before he could ask, Mikey’s squeals of ecstasy cut him off, drilling in everybody’s ears. The kid had the memory of a fish sometimes.

“Man this is going to be the best Sensei Day EVER!!” His rear end bonked against the stool’s wood like a hammer drill. “We got Murakami’s delish food, and the gang’s all here!” Suddenly he gave a gasp like he’d just realised something. “Ooh! We forgot to formally introduce Karai to Murakami-san!”

At his words, everything in the room fell into a sudden standstill. Laughter went splat on the floor and the uncomfortable silence was only broken by the sound of a pair of chopsticks being dropped on a plate.

“Awesome!” Mikey said, obviously mistaking everybody’s silence as them politely waiting for him to do the honors. “Karai, meet Mr. Murakami. Murakami-san, this is our sister Karai.”

“Uh.. actually, Karai and Murakami-san have already kinda met,” Raph declared bluntly and he was cut off by April’s small pale hand that had reached across Casey to smack him in the shoulder.

“What??” he protested.

Karai was throwing Raphael an icy glare, but stayed quiet as she apprehensively glanced around her to the rest of the people in the room. Sweet Mikey had been stunned into silence, seemingly confused by their reactions.

She had been dreading this moment; the moment in which her past life was brought up, specifically the part where she was tasked with threatening and beating an old man senseless, wrecking this very restaurant just to get information on the turtles and their friends. To... ‘strike at their hearts’.

Mikey pressed on as if nothing weird had happened. Obviously they didn’t get his point.

“No, but I mean we have to introduce the good Karai! You know, cuz when they met she was still Shredder’s evil kunoichi daughter and was like trying to kill us…”

“Geez, Mikey, shut up...” Casey groaned under his breath, leaning in behind Raph.

“But-”

“Michelangelo!” Splinter scolded curtly, but seemed at a loss for something to say after that. He looked almost as troubled as Karai, but not quite. Mikey looked up at his stoic face, confused and disheartened, and gave up trying to fix things.

Karai dropped her eyes, trying to ignore the way everybody was avoiding her gaze. She wished they wouldn’t do that, it almost made it worse…She wished someone would just say something.

At the center next to his kitchen, Murakami hesitated to speak, sensing everybody’s discomfort and somewhat unsettled by the thick cloud of awkwardness that had plunged over the group all of a sudden, and the resounding silence coming from Karai’s corner of the bar.

Finally he decided he couldn’t let such a thing fester.

“Oh, yes…I remember Miss Karai,” Murakami started speaking to the whole of the room in a casual voice and Karai’s head drooped. She wanted nothing else but to sink through the floor. But then Murakami’s mouth curved upwards ever so slightly. “I remember she honorably refused to harm me when that tiger man would have surely killed me.”

Karai lifted her gaze from her food plate, surprised by Murakami’s change in tone.

“It was likely because of her that I was allowed to live. So I was very happy to hear that you had found a better path, and now it’s an honor to formally meet you, Karai.” Murakami was addressing her directly now. “I hope your new life brings you happiness.”

A smile of relief lit her expression, a patch of bright blue on a rainy sky.

“Domo arigato gozaimasu, Murakami-san,” she said courteously presenting the old man with her gratitude.

“Dōitashimashite,” the man said with a smile of his own. “Don’t forget to try the _negima_!”  

Just like that, Murakami was back by his kitchen, merrily humming a tune as he flipped a pan-full of vegetables in the air and the atmosphere in the room changed to a warmer hue as the fog lifted. However the tight knot constricting Karai’s chest still wouldn’t grant her the bravery to look too closely in everybody else’s eyes. Deep down she was still scared that she might not find all the reassurance she was striving for. And after what she did, how could she expect any different?

At her side, she caught Leonardo turning his head and offering her an encouraging smile under the placid blue of his timid glance. That alone managed to light a faint shimmer of hope within and the knot loosened another bit.

Then the turtle turned to face the room and said casually “So we ran into Martin the other day!”

Karai was grateful for the renewed festive feel that Leo’s comment achieved, even when it was obviously meant to keep the subject away from her. It would give her time to gather herself and dissolve her troubling thoughts in the casual conversation.

“You mean _Sir Malachi,_ ” Donnie corrected amusingly.

“The sparrow guy with the LARP addiction?” Casey said.

“Yeah and guess what he proposed we played.”

“I doubt it was a game of cricket,” Casey joked. He’d only met Sir Malachi once and the aversion had been mutual, especially after the way he’d made fun of hockey.

“He’d play cricket if there was a role playing game for it,” Raph jeered around a mouthful of sashimi.

“Dude, you can make roleplay out of anything! That’s the beauty of it!” interceded Michelangelo with a glimmer in his eyes.

“Yeah, and I have a score to settle with Malachi for giving Mikey the idea,” Raph said, smacking his fist into his other palm. “He actually had us try out a _Starvation Run_ LARP. I hadn’t even recovered from Malachi’s game!”

“ _Starvation Run_? That movie about the chick that gets sent to these games where everybody kills each other?” Casey’s eyebrows quirked, fork held halfway to his mouth.

“How do you make a LARP of a movie if you already know how it’s going to end?” April asked as well. “Isn’t it supposed to be about improv and stuff?”

Leonardo let out a cynical snicker.

“Well, we were supposed to make ourselves whole new characters, but Mikey here kind of ruined it because of course he _had_ to be Catmint…”

“Um, hello? It’s called an _alternate universe_ , look it up sometime!” the turtle took a bite of his spring roll and proceeded to finish making his point with his mouth full. “Besides, how could I miss my chance at being Catmint for one day? Oh man, she’s sooo cool! I wish I was her, she’s awesome with the bow and arrows!”

“You’re already like twice as good as she is, ya ding-dong!” Raph cried in frustration.

“Yeah but she’s all heroic and stuff, and brave, and kicks butt and is smart and…”

“Hey you think they should make a movie about us, then? Because I don’t know about you guys, but I think I’d pawn this Catnip person to the ground in pretty much every aspect,” Raph protested.

“Excuse _you_ , it’s _Catmint_ , not _Catnip_.”

“Are you like a Catmint fanboy, Mikey?” Casey asked, bemused.

At that, the orange-clad turtle stood up straight, chest puffed out, kissed his forefinger and pointed it towards the ceiling dramatically, then whistled an evocative four-note tune as sole response. The other brothers engaged in a collective face palm while both Casey and April stared in confusion.

“Did he just somehow give me the finger?” Casey said, directing his bewilderment to the whole of the group.

“No! That was the District 12 salute!” Mikey exclaimed in disbelief, outraged by such scandalous lack of culture. “Well, you know, minus a couple fingers… Hey, you guys should join us next time!”

“I dunno, I haven’t even seen those movies,” Casey said, sounding very uninterested. Not that that would give Mikey any pause...

“Oh, no worries! I can totally make your character bios for you like I did last time. I set it all up for them like a pro game master,” Mikey said, pointing at his brothers. “Raph was District 1, cuz he would be a trained tribute for sure and he would totally volunteer for the _Starvation Run_. Then Leo was District 2, cuz that’s where all the Peacekeeper agents are trained… Oh, and Karai was district 7,” Mikey said and turned to Karai as though inciting her to tell it.

“Because of that one crazy girl from the second movie,” Karai added. “She was nuts, walking around in the raw, I loved her.”

Mikey gave a confirmatory nod.

“And of course Donnie was District 3: the ‘ _nerd’_ district,” he finished with an evil grin.

Donatello raised one proud eyebrow ridge.

“I like to think of it as the _genius_ district, thank you very much.”

“You would, ya giant nerd,” Raph grunted.

“Say what you will, meathead, I still won the LARP” Donnie replied, his arms crossed in a show of superiority.

“That’s cuz you’re almost as big of a LARP nerd as Mikey.”

“Do not tempt the game master, Raph,” Michelangelo threatened in an ominous voice. “You don’t want this karma on your next game.”

“What makes you think I wanna _be_ in your next game?” Raph retorted, though actually he couldn’t wait to inflict his mighty retaliation upon them all.

While the rest were still in heated conversation about who was the biggest nerd, Donnie glanced down at April not for the first time noticing the absent stare or the dark circles under her eyes. She didn’t look like she was following the conversation at all anymore.

“You’re very quiet tonight, April,” he ventured softly, and he was met with a pair of heavy-lidded eyes.

“Yeah, you haven’t said a word all evening,” Casey added then, one eyebrow lifted.

“I’ve said words!” April protested wanely. “I’m just a little tired. I didn’t sleep well last night,“ she shrugged noncommittally, forcing a yawn.

“How’s that exam going?” Donnie asked in a bout of concern, having the distinct hunch that school was only part of the problem, though he preferred not to touch the subject of her dad while celebrating. She’d mentioned Kirby had been having acute night terrors and he could tell she was having a hard time even when she didn’t say.

“Ugh… don’t remind me,” she groaned. “I can’t seem to get the hang of some of those problems, it’s driving me nuts. And the exam is next week,” she added, a look of absolute dread on her face.

“If you want, I could try to explain it to you. We could have a study session, the three of us!” Donnie offered with utmost enthusiasm.

“Geez, Donnie, do you have to bring up school at a party?” Casey said as if the sole mention of the word ‘school’ were nothing short of toilet talk.

Donnie was going to retort but April was quicker.

“Actually, that would be great!” she said, ignoring Casey’s interruption, then she turned to the human boy. “We should do it, Casey. Donnie’s a great teacher.”

“A nerd like him, I’d expect nothing less.”

That earned him a piece of sashimi to the face, which April had to duck to avoid.

“Bonehead,” Donnie murmured just loud enough for him to hear.

“Smartass,” Casey countered, flinging a wet noodle in his direction. But Donatello dodged the projectile with ninja speed and the noodle smacked Leonardo on the back of the head instead.

“What are you doing?” Leo exclaimed, twisting towards them and throwing them a look of affront while Karai laughed beside him.

“Good one, Jones,” Karai said, and Casey acknowledged the felicitation with a satisfied smirk.

“Will you two goofballs stop that? I’d like to actually _eat_ some of this food,” April chastised and said goofballs adopted an efficient look of compunction. Leonardo shook his head slowly.

“Hold still, Leo” Karai’s voice said in his ear and he froze, watching through the corner of his eye as Karai outstretched her hand towards him. For a moment she looked like she was going to caress his cheek and he tensed in expectation, suppressing a shiver. But alas, her hand went past Leo’s ear and started peeling the noodle from his blue bandana. Karai let the noodle hang from her fingers for a couple of seconds, gloating over the effects of her actions, and then dropped it casually on her tongue.

Leo peered at the wink she gave him with mixed feelings. Luckily the others were already back to their own conversations and didn’t witness this exchange.

“I’m not calling Master Splinter a druggie! All I’m saying is alcohol should be treated with respect!” he heard Donnie argue behind him.

“So where were we?” Karai said to regain the turtle’s attention, leaning on the counter and chewing pointedly.

Leonardo stammered.

“Uh, we were…” he halted, and switched to Japanese. _“We were talking about Fūtarō Yamada and his Ninpōchō series”_

He wasn’t expecting the sharp chuckle she gave him then.

_“You’re so cute when you try”_ _._

Leo scowled.

_“What do you mean?”_

_“Your accent’s terrible.”_

_“Hey, I wasn’t born in Japan like you!”_

_“Don’t be mad, Leo. I just like teasing you because you get all proud and pissy.”_

Leo had to contain himself before he proved her right yet again.

_“Shall we go on, then?”_ Leo invited, his aggravation successfully contained for the moment.

_“Of course, silly,”_ Karai said, laughing at the stately semblance that Leo was putting on for her. _“You were saying you’ve read one of his books?”_

_“Yeah, Kōga Ninpōchō.”_

_“Hmm, sounds familiar. What’s it about?”_

_“It’s about this deadly confrontation between the Iga and the Kōga ninja, and how the future leaders of both clans fall in love.”_

Karai did an intrigued rut of her eyebrows.

_“Oh really...”_ she said suggestively, and Leo’s cheeks immediately began to feel hot. _“Did you read it recently?”_

_“I read it many years ago,”_ he said, once again nervous about what Karai’s suggestions usually brought on, his heart suddenly hammering excitedly. He hadn’t thought about the parallels and now she was deliberately playing him like a shamisen. Man, he had to learn to choose his conversation topics better... _“It was a good read, I read it for all the ninja stuff, not… not the romance...”_

There was a fraction of a second’s pause.

_“Hmm…”_ Karai uttered thoughtfully, and Leo could’ve sworn she looked upset all of a sudden. But he could never be sure…He allowed her a few seconds to make her move, hoping for the usual haughty smirk full of confidence but all he got was a frowning silence.

_“What?”_ Leo asked at length when she wouldn’t say anything.

He faltered, and this time it wasn’t out of fluster. _What just happened? What did I say?_

_“Nevermind,”_ Karai replied, shaking a hand in the air in a clear attempt to downplay. She wasn’t fooling Leo, though. Any other day she was an expert at hiding beneath masks of unabashed kunoichi confidence, but tonight he knew better. He’d been on edge the entire evening, throwing her side glances wondering if it had been a good idea bringing her here. She’d seemed fine, but the mention of her past aggression on Murakami obviously struck a chord. Her sudden seriousness had completely knocked him off balance, because it was frustratingly inscrutable.

Karai cleared her throat and tucked a strand of her black mane behind her ear. “I might have to reread that book,” she commented.

_“I can lend it to you if you want,”_ Leo said and he elbowed her fondly, trying to make her smile again. He’d take all the ambiguous flirting, exhausting though it was, over _this_ any day.

_“Yeah, I’ll ask you for it one of these days,”_ Karai agreed, hardly looking at him as she sipped from her glass, her brow still wrinkled in thought.

Saddened by the direction in which the conversation had suddenly deviated, Leonardo mimicked her, taking a long gulp of his lychee flavoured _Ramune_ soda. He tried to focus on the other discussions taking place in the room in an attempt to distract his own mind from the hollow feeling in the pit of his stomach, but his thoughts always meandered back to Karai, now quiet and pensive at his side.

He couldn’t understand what he could have possibly said to make her fall into this sudden mutism. Thinking back to all the times that Donatello had seemed confused or frustrated about April, he wondered if this impenetrableness was a trait of all women. If that were the case, then he wished he were brave enough to ask or wise enough to see the little things that were inadvertently escaping his most scrupulous attention. When it came to this, it seemed it didn’t matter how brilliant or astute any of them were, because both brothers were failing miserably and there was no science nor training that could have prepared them for it.

And on top of that, there was the matter of Karai’s process of adaptation to her new life. Even months later, and when she tried hard to appear composed in front of them, despite everyone’s best efforts at making her feel welcome she was still struggling. Leo was well aware of the tremendous leap of faith that had been the passage from being Oroku Saki’s daughter, heir of the Foot Clan, to practically an outcast, daughter of a ninja master who lived secluded from the world and roommates with a group of mutant turtle teens. This oddball family of his was now all that she had in this world and he couldn’t blame her for her insecurity.

He wanted nothing more than to trust his gut, to tell her everything would be alright, that they were in this together now. He wanted to promise to her that she would feel right at home with time, and that meanwhile she could always count on him. But when he saw her like this, so impervious and unfathomable, he couldn’t help but think that maybe there was more to it than she was letting out. That she was hiding something. And he didn’t want to be wrong again. He’d been wrong so many times...

Without realizing it, Leonardo’s eyes had drifted to Karai as his thoughts ran like rapids, anxious and turbulent, and only when the girl turned to meet his gaze did he realize he was staring. But before he could recover, a devious grin had spread on her face and without further preambles she gripped Leonardo’s arm in a lock and pulled him towards her with such force that he almost spilled his drink. Before he had time to react she stole a light peck on his cheek, so light it was barely perceptible. Leonardo still noticed though, and when she finally released his arm he recoiled, utterly disconcerted.

“What the-” Leonardo blurted out back in his first language, astounded by the way she could jump from one end of the emotional spectrum to the other in the blink of an eye.

“You had a drop of soy sauce on your cheek, probably from that noodle attack,” she said, shrugging in a carefree manner.

“Would you _please_ stop using me as your dinner plate?” Leonardo complained rubbing his cheek, still a little shaken by the abrupt change in attitude.

“And waste this expensive soy sauce? Don’t be absurd.” Karai gave him a friendly nudge and she got back to her drink, admiring Leo’s blush and with the clear satisfaction of having put it there.

The turtle sighed, but smiled in seeing her back to her usual self.  Maybe he was reading too much into things. Maybe she really was alright and _he_ was the one who needed to relax.

“Who’s ready for the special?”

Leonardo’s present thoughts flew out the window at Murakami’s words. The teaser had a powerful effect on everyone present, shutting them all up instantly and gaining their undivided attention. The turtles fixed their eyes on the food tray concealed behind the old man’s back like four hungry hounds waiting for their treat.

“Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy,” Mikey chanted. “I think I know what he means!”

“We all know what he means, little brother!” Raphael gave him a light smack on the back of the head, but his mouth was as watery as everybody’s.

Murakami took out the metal tray from behind him holding it high for everyone to behold, and the response would not have been more grandiose if it had been a jewel encrusted crown on a velvet cushion.

“Pizza gyoza!”

The restaurant exploded in cheers and impatient sounds of shifting bar stools as he served them all one plate at a time, starting with Splinter and working his way around the bar. By the time he reached Karai and went back to his stove, the dumplings had disappeared from Mikey’s plate.

Raphael glanced sideways at Mikey’s clean plate and then at Mikey, eyes narrowed in distrust at his brother’s suspicious look of innocence. He slid his own plate away and shielded it with his arms before he continued eating. Plans thwarted, Mikey buried a scrunched up chin on his crossed arms.

“Man, I love Japanese food!” Casey mumbled with a mouth full of gyoza.

“Actually, this isn’t what you’d call traditional jap-” Donatello was going to correct him, but Casey cut him short with a belch that made the soy sauce ripple in its platter.

“Ew! Casey!” April cried, flapping a hand between her and Casey’s mouth.

“Real classy, Jones…”

“Ooh, ooh, I know just what to reply to that!” Mikey exclaimed two seats down the bar before adopting a pose of zen concentration, as if he was channeling some inner energy flowing from his center. Then, with his arms raised high in a religious fashion, he unloaded a glass shattering burp lasting three whole mississippi’s.

“Auughhh Mikey!” Raph groaned, covering his snout.

Splinter, whose sensitive nose _and ears_ had to agree with Raphael, was about to call for decency when Murakami stopped him.

“Let the boys play, Splinter-san. They’ve been through a lot, you all deserve some time off, even from some social conventions.”

Splinter merely grunted as sole confirmation. Perhaps he was right.

Leonardo, however, was red as a poppy.

“Seriously, guys? You’re doing this in front of Murakami-san _and_ Sensei!”

Neither Mikey nor Casey seemed to care.

“Oh-ho! So is that how it’s gonna be?” the gap-tooth grin on Casey’s face spread into a wolfish sneer and he took a long gulp of his soda.

“Oh, come on” Donatello said, covering his ears in anticipation, and he saw April push her stool away from the bar, reeling as Casey put on his war face. The human boy looked at his mutant challenger dead in the eye, planted his palms on the bar and heaved, releasing forth what could have perfectly been the roar of a thousand hell hounds.

“Stooooop!” Leo whined, hiding his embarrassment behind his hands and eyeing Murakami and Splinter through the slits between his fingers. The cook looked amused, but Splinter was shaking his head slowly, leaning away towards the corner of the bar in a feeble attempt to avoid any collateral damage. It would prove difficult though as the orange-clad turtle was currently climbing onto the bar counter with an air of defiance.

“You dare challenge me, puny human! Prepare to suffer the wrath of Michelangelord, God of Thunder!”

Wrath of the gods it was. The people sitting closest to Mikey swore they felt their clothes and bandanas wave in the air. Michelangelo’s counter strike might have reached a 9 in the Richter scale, had Donatello brought his sensor with him. Something that could very well show up on the news the following morning as dozens of New Yorkers called in to report a brief but intense tremor in the vicinity of the tiny noodle shop tucked away in a corner of a dead end street.

Mikey plopped down on his stool looking dizzy as the aftershocks faded and not even the more squeamish could contain the laughter.

“Ahhh… wouldn’t want to follow that,” Raphael commented in a collected manner, in the way that a presenter would at a chess game. Then he turned to Casey with a knowing look.

“So what do you say? Fold?”

“If I do this anymore I’m going to puke. How about you, Raph? Care to weigh in?”

“I would, but… after that I can only embarrass myself.”

“Oh yeah! I win! Mikey wins! You amateurs thought you could beat me at my own game!”

“Congrats, little brother!” Karai said as she merrily applauded. “If only I was as talented.”

The young turtle was visibly pleased by his big sister’s praise.

“I can teach you!” he said, and leaned forward on the counter. “Come on, show me what you can do!”

Karai then sucked in some air and let out a burp as brief and light as the snap of a twig. Leonardo stifled a snicker, touched by the cuteness of it. So she _was_ a bit like a girl sometimes after all…

“Not bad, not bad. But you have to _feel_ it. Next time, try using your diaphragm,” Mikey advised generously.

“Lemme try that again.”

And this time they all gawped in awe at the sound coming out of Karai’s mouth, as powerful and resounding as a trombone, and if she hadn’t been right before their noses they would’ve thought a burly truck driver with a beer belly had just come through the door. Leo’s expression was a colorful blend of many contradicting emotions. His smile had been torn right off, transferred right onto Mikey’s face which was alight with jubilation.

“That was amazing, big sis!” Mikey exclaimed. “With a little technique, you could be second best! I shall train you in my ways!”

“Arigato gozaimasu,” Karai pronounced ceremoniously, both palms pressed together and bowing her head like after combat.

Splinter looked around the room and smiled optimistically, his eyes lingering on the content smirk on his daughter’s face as the others clapped and cheered. He congratulated Murakami for his vision, and the man nodded confidently.

_All is well_ , he thought warmly, and he gave himself permission to relax for the rest of the evening as plate after plate came and went until eventually Murakami announced the close.

“What’s this? All the food is gone?” Michelangelo gasped dramatically before yelling “Not on my watch!” and he suddenly bolted from his seat with the fanfare of a superhero to retrieve his surprise, which was sitting in a corner.

“ _More_ food? I’m going to burst” April said lethargically. “How can you guys fit so much under those plastrons?” She went on, genuinely amazed though not surprised. She’d seen the turtles eat too many times to ever be surprised again.

Donnie chuckled beside her. “If you’d spent fifteen years of your life feeding on algae and worms you would understand.”

April winced in sympathy and gave his arm a few compassionate rubs, eliciting a sheepish chuckle.

“Feast your eyes! And then your mouths!” Mikey announced triumphantly, unveiling what closely resembled a cake and placing it on the counter as everyone leaned in to take a closer look. It was a scary looking cake with red, crooked letters decorating the white frosting.

“What’s it say? ‘Happy Sens’?” Leonardo said, squinting at the barely intelligible writing.

“‘Happy Sensei Day’, duh. I just couldn’t fit the entire thing on the top, so…” Mikey turned the cake around, showing them the rest of the letters written on the side.

“It looks like something Chucky would cook.”

Raph’s observation earned him a few laughs.

“Hey! I made this cake, I can take away your cake privileges, bro!”

“That’s probably saving me a few trips to the toilet, so thanks!”

Splinter intervened with an authoritative voice.

“Raphael, Michelangelo made this with love and generosity.”

“And knowing him, probably lint from the crevices of his shell too.”

Casey gave a loud guffaw at that.

“That’s disgusting, man!” he laughed, and unlike the rest, he seemed absolutely delighted with the mental image it evoked.

“Fine, you don’t get a piece either,” Mikey grumbled, protectively sliding the cake away from the pair.

“They’re only joking, Mikey,” April said sweetly one hand on his shell. “I’ll try it.”

“Wait, sensei has to cut it!”

“Use Leo’s sword!” Casey proposed.

“What? No!” Leo exclaimed, horrified by the notion.

“It’s only cake, it’s cut grosser stuff. I say go for it,” Karai said, and the turtle in blue didn’t have it in him to contradict her, especially after seeing his master’s face as he looked at his daughter, an ample smile under his snout. Leo obliged and tossed Splinter his niten ryu.

Splinter wielded the sword in a ritualistic manner and cocked the cake’s plate in one smooth swing of the blade, spinning it like a deranged merry-go-round covered in fondant. He raised the sword over his head and brought it down multiple times at lighting speed. When the cake stopped turning, it was perfectly sliced in equal portions. Then, using the blade as a spatula he distributed the pieces to each of the platters and ceremoniously cleaned it with a napkin like a samurai after a kill before giving it back to Leonardo.

“Don’t worry, Leo. Someday you too will cut cakes like sensei,” Karai teased at the look of admiration on the turtle’s face as he slid the blade back into its sheath. She took a couple of servings and handed one to Leo, keeping the other.

“Thanks.” He took the plate, his lips pursed in mock annoyance.

“Come on, Raph,” April said, handing him the piece of cake. Raphael shrugged.

“Eh, I’ll take my chances,” he said, accepting the plate and taking a forkful. “Mm! Hey! Whaddya know, it’s actually good!”

“Yeah, I mean it’s not winning any pageants,” Donnie said, turning his plate around to look at the red scribbles on his slice, “but it’s beautiful on the inside.”

The rest of them seemed to agree and Mikey gave a disgruntled sigh.

“I followed the recipe, like I promised. No extra ingredients for you lame squares.”

“Thank you, Michelangelo,” Splinter said kindly, laying one fatherly hand on his son’s shoulder. “That means a lot.”

“Okay, and now that we all have cake, we can take out the presents!” Mikey yelled, sprinting off to one corner of the room for the second time that night with the piece of cake in his hand singing “gotta get a gi- gotta get a gi- gotta get a gift for Splinter!”. There he slapped away the drapes to uncover a long package propped against the window and he was back in the shake of a turtle’s tail, setting the package on the table in front of his father, who scowled disapprovingly.

“I told you boys, no presents on Sensei Day.”

“We made an exception this one time,” Donatello said before putting the fork back in his mouth and chewing happily.

“Open it, sensei!” Mikey cried hopping on his heels, unable to contain his excitement.

Splinter shook his head, but there was a small smile on his snout as he started peeling off the modest red wrapping.

“Happy Sensei Day!” they yelled in unison when the package finally lay unwrapped in Splinter’s claws as he gazed down upon it, knowing what this object was the very instant he set eyes on it.

“The sword of Yurikawa…” Splinter breathed in awe.

“We all contributed, but Karai was the one who found it,” April chimed in right away.

“This… must have cost a fortune,” Splinter said in all confusion, a concerned crinkle on his brow.

“Not really...”

“Yeah, we stole it,” Karai said lightly and Splinter bristled.

“You _stole-_?!”

“She’s joking, sensei! Honest!” Leo quickly interjected looking positively mortified and Karai exploded in laughter at her father’s face of utmost horror.

“No, but you could say it was a _steal_. I saw it in this antique store,” she explained, still laughing. “The owner thought it was just an antique sword like any other, but I recognized it immediately. This thing belongs in a museum. If the idiot knew she was practically giving away such a valuable piece...” Karai seemed all too proud of the way she had rickroll'd that woman, taking advantage of her ignorance. Still, she had done nothing illegal… But Leo would’ve certainly offered a bit more if only out of pity.

Splinter regarded the sword with moist eyes, unsheathing it and running his fingers along the cool, engraved surface of the blade. He lifted his eyes to see all his sons and daughters standing quietly on either sides of him, watching him with loving eyes full of self-satisfaction. They could never know just how much _he_ loved _them_ , but he hoped his smile and his glossy eyes would give them a small insight. When his gaze met Karai’s, he presented her with the tiniest of nods, and felt a warmth swell in his center when she returned it, beaming.

“Thank you,” he said slowly, carefully so his voice wouldn’t break. “Nothing makes me happier than being here surrounded by my family. I speak nothing but the truth when I say I would not have it any other way. I will guard this for its value, but I will treasure it because it came from you all, my children.”

“Oh man, Sensei, that was so pretty!” Mikey gulped after a short silence and he promptly threw himself face first into Splinter’s robes. Immediately everybody else did the same, stools knocked aside, one by one wrapping themselves around the growing cornucopia of family love until they were but a giant, giggly, teary lump of mostly mutants in the middle of the noodle bar.

“My children,” Splinter repeated, voice cracking under seven different pairs of arms as Murakami smiled from the side like he could see each and every happy face.

Donatello was the first to waggle himself out of the bundle to quickly pull out his T-Phone.

“You guys, this is what I call a Kodak moment.”

“A what kind of moment?” Mikey asked waiting for the lump to slowly dissolve before being able to disengage himself from his master.

“It’s a joke. Though, I admit, kind of outdated…”

“Picture time, Mikey,” Raphael clarified.

“Alright! Picture time!” Mikey shouted, and he moved to join everybody already in position around their sensei, practically jumping on top of the counter.

“Hold up your sword, Master Splinter,” Donnie asked while he calibrated the phone and set it on a counter opposite them, with a timer set to ten seconds. “There.”

“Join us, Murakami-san!” Mikey said as Donatello hurried back to occupy his place in the group of people all scrunched together in a bundle and getting Casey’s arm thrown across his shoulders.

“Oh, this is a family thi-” Murakami couldn’t finish the sentence, Mikey having just yanked his arm after climbing over the bar to make him join them at the last second.

“Say gyoza!” Mikey yelled.

“GYOZA!!!”

 

* * *

 

Bellies full and plates licked clean, dinner finally came to a lazy end.

“All gone,” Mikey groaned around the last mouthful of cake, drowsily patting his taut stomach.

“Man, I hope we left something for tomorrow’s customers, Murakami-san,” Donnie said looking exhausted, and he pulled on the edge of his belt in a futile attempt to loosen it over his stuffed middle.

“Don’t worry, there’s plenty. I planned ahead,” Murakami said with a knowing smirk.

With so much food weighing them down, it was a good thing they wouldn’t be patrolling tonight. But even though none of them was in a hurry to get to sleep, seeing as how most of their activities took place during the night anyway, April and Casey still had class the very next morning. And as Splinter pointed out, Mr. Murakami still had much to do before locking up.

“Don’t worry, Murakami-san, we got this!” Donnie said, stopping the old man from taking his empty plate. He heaved himself and his full stomach off the stool and started making a tall pile of dishes to carry over to the sink. Leonardo sprang from his own stool to mimic him, followed by April, who had been absentmindedly staring into empty space until she saw Donatello move.

“Oh, thank you boys, that’s not necessary.”

“We insist. It’s the least we could do,” Leo said cordially, pulling Raph and Mikey to their feet to get them to help too.

“Yeah, alright,” Raph agreed half-heartedly.

With everybody helping, the place was soon close to ready for another day of business.

“Such good boys. You taught them well, Hamato-sensei.”

“Yes, well…We could always work on those table manners,” Splinter said, recalling the burping contest with a disapproving wiggle of his whiskers.

“A trifle, really. Thank you for coming, Splinter-san,” Murakami said in his mother tongue and with a short bow.

“Thank you for the delicious meal, Murakami-san. It was a real pleasure meeting you at last.”

“Same here. I hope to have you over again soon.”

“You will, but next time I expect you let us pay for the food.”

Murakami chuckled deviously.

“We’ll see.”

“All finished,” Leonardo said, putting down the sponge and untying his apron. “Another job well done, turtles.”

There was a general sigh of relief and Murakami thanked them all for their help before they finally made to leave.

“Don’t forget your present, Sensei,” Mikey said.

“Never,” Splinter replied, holding the sword close.

“Alright, all clear,” said the leader in blue, his head peeking out the front door and signalling the others to follow suit. By the time they made it to the nearest manhole it was already past midnight.

“Well, this is us,” Leo announced to the humans as Raph slid open the heavy cover, the metal raking noisily on the concrete ground.

“I had a great time, guys.”

“Night, April!” came the chorus’ reply.

“Happy Sensei Day, Master Splinter,” she said, giving the rat a hug.

“Goodnight, child. See you tomorrow for training?”

“Oh, sorry, I don’t think I’ll make it tomorrow. But the day after?”

Splinter nodded his head and set to follow Leonardo down the ladder.

“Don’t forget our date with the Purple Dragons tomorrow, Raph,” Casey said to Raph, offering his hand.

“Wouldn’t want to leave our friends hanging,” Raph replied, a fiendish grin on his face and they both shared their private bro handshake before the turtle jumped inside the manhole. The rest said their goodbyes before following Raph down the chute one by one.

“Holy crap, it’s late,” April said urgently, looking ģat her T-Phone after watching Karai climb down, leaving only Donnie and the two humans. “I gotta get to bed or I’ll never be able to wake up tomorrow.”

It wasn’t a lie, but it wasn’t the whole truth either. She’d gotten used to sleeping less ever since she started hanging out with the turtles in their rather nocturnal habits. But if tonight was going to be anything like the previous several nights, she would be waking up to her dad’s screams several times before her alarm clock rang.

“I’ll walk ya,” Casey offered and April didn’t need to look at Donnie to see the slightly envious squint of his eyes.

“Sure, Casey.”

Casey turned to Donatello and gave him a resounding smack on his shell.

“Maybe next time, Stick Master.”

“Right. Good one,” the turtle grumbled drily.

“Come on, Don, I’m just teasin’.”

Donnie gave a resigned roll of his eyes but grinned as they gave each other a routine fist bump. He knew he was at least telling the truth there, even when to him there was nothing funny to begin with.

“Later, man.”

“Bye, Case. Oh, and gimme a call when you’re up for that study session,” Donnie said, speaking to the two humans.

Casey groaned and April shoved him along, turning to reply to Donatello.

“We will, Donnie. Thanks a lot.”

And she draped her arms around him. It wasn’t by far the first time she had done that. But this particular goodnight hug lasted a beat longer than usual, and being Donnie of course he noticed. At this point though, he could at most wonder what it meant, or if it even meant something. As they broke apart, April dedicated him the warmest of smiles, but her eyes were downcast for some reason. This was going to keep him up at night, he just knew it.

“Night, Don,” she said and then she was off.

“Night, April,” he said softly more to himself than anything else, which kept him distracted from the wary look on Casey’s eyes before he, too, turned to leave following April down the street. Donatello watched them go side by side, almost expecting them to hold hands at any given moment. He still couldn’t help the heavy feeling in his chest. Oh, how he wished to be able to just walk down the street with April at his side like that.

The feel of April’s arms around his neck had been burned into his skin, and immediately he began categorizing all the possible causes and implications. It had just been a couple seconds longer than usual, and perhaps a couple of pascal units tighter, but he was almost certain there was some kind of hidden meaning behind it.

“Coming, D?”

Donnie snapped back to reality, whipping his neck around to Mikey’s head peeking out from the manhole.

“Uh, yeah” he called out and in one hop disappeared into the swampy dark below the city surface, the cover sliding back to its place.

 

* * *

 

“Everything alright, Red?”

April lifted her gaze from the concrete sidewalk she was treading on to meet Casey’s, a look of surprise in her clear eyes. He’d been talking about the latest patrol nights with Raph, and he had his hockey stick out to reenact some of the fight scenes, giving the occasional finger at whoever stuck their head out the window whining about the noise. But April didn’t look too involved, simply dropping an absent “uh-huh” every now and then.

“Huh? Yeah, why?”

“You seem a little distracted. Were you even listening to what I was saying?”

“Uh, you were talking about you and Raph…”

Casey stared intently, waiting for her to finish with raised eyebrows.

“And… hockey?”

“You know, if I was a girl and you were a dude, I’d be acting very offended right now.”

April gave a loud sigh.

“Sorry, I was just thinking.”

“‘Bout what?

The girl vacillated.

“About that movie…” she lied.

“ _Starvation Run_?” Casey inquired suspiciously after a few seconds of thinking back to Murakami’s.

She nodded but didn’t look half convinced.

“Yep.”

“What about it?”

“Nothing, just that it sounded interesting. I haven’t seen it yet” she said dismissively.

“Well, maybe we could watch the movies together. I heard they were playing a marathon at the Argosy” Casey proposed as they both turned the corner, April’s building already visible from there. “Now that New York is back on its feet, we can catch up on all the dates you owe me.”

To his surprise, the snide remark that usually followed his date requests did not come. Instead, Casey saw April bite her lip.

“Actually, I was waiting for you to ask.”

The words hit him like a baseball to the mouth, making him halt his steps briefly. At this point he had been flirting out of pure habit. He had _not_ been expecting that. But April was still walking, so he pranced to catch up with her, almost tripping over his hockey stick.

“Wait, what? Seriously?”

“Yeah! You’re right, we should hang out!”.

“That’s... great!” he said, not entirely sure why her excitement didn’t seem all that authentic. He decided it was probably his imagination. This was April asking him for a date! Kind of…   “Is that what this was all about?”

“What do you mean?” she retorted, already on the defensive.

“Well, you’ve been acting weird all night. Were you nervous about asking the cool kid for a date?” he asked playfully, leaning on his hockey stick when they finally came to a halt at her doorstep.

“Cute, Jones. Always the modest one” she said through a lopsided grin. “So what do you say?”

“Wait, we’re talking about a real, actual, official... _date,_ right?”

“Yep.”

For a moment, Casey only gave April a skeptical frown.

“With like… romantic stuff?” he crooned finally, already back in the game and wiggling his eyebrow.

April crossed her arms in an authoritative posture.

“If you promise to take a shower first.”

“Hey! I shower!”

“Yeah, every solstice…”, a snarky grin spread through her face.

“That is neither true nor funny. But consider it done, Red!”

“And it wouldn’t hurt you to wear something besides that T-shirt, either.”

“Fine! I’ll see what I can snatch from my dad’s closet. Any more requests, commander O’Neil, sir?” Casey joked, standing on attention.

“That’s madam to you, soldier.”

“Madam, yes, madam. Any more requests, madam?”

“Yeah” April laughed. “Don’t be too late.”

“You got it, madam! So what time would you like Casey Jones to pick you up?”

“How about tomorrow afternoon?”

“Sure- Oh…” Casey interrupted himself, suddenly remembering. “Aw, man!”

“What?”

Casey winced, sheepishly rubbing the back of his head.

“The thing is... I was already going to hang out with Raph. We were going to go pick on the Purple Dragons.”

“You mean the same thing you do every other day?” She wasn’t sure why this bothered her. Maybe after all his insistence, she was expecting a bit more commitment on his part. She knew for a fact that Casey had a personal vendetta with Hun after he mopped the floors with him that day and then many times since, and he’d been tirelessly pressing on the matter these past few weeks. He could be quite boneheaded when he set his mind to it.

“It’s not what you think, okay?” he retorted as if he’d read her mind, but then he saw the unconvinced look on her face. “Or, well… not entirely.”

He faltered, sensing irritation.

“Look, we’ve been spying on them lately and we think they might be onto something, so we were going to go check it out. I was telling you about it before, but I guess you didn’t hear me...”

“Fine, we can do it some other time. Think you can squeeze me into in your tight schedule somewhere?”

Casey appraised April. She seemed really tense, probably even ticked, and he couldn’t be sure why. He quickly tried to make amends.

“Uh, you know what? I’ll tell Raph we can do that some other time.”

She gave a sigh of exasperation. And no, it wasn’t because of Casey, she thought. This was all her, being stressed out and confused and who knows what more. What was up with her tonight? Oh, that’s right…

April paused and gathered herself before continuing, a tad more levelheaded.

“No, you don’t have to… Ugh, sorry, Casey. I didn’t mean to be a jerk, we’ll just hang out another day.”

“No, no! Tomorrow’s great, really!” Casey said, a hint of hesitation in his voice that didn’t entirely convince April.

“Are you sure? What about Raph?”

“Don’t worry about it, he won’t mind.”

“Really.” It wasn’t a question so much as a sarcastic statement.

“Yeah, yeah, yeah! So what time?” he insisted almost desperately.

“Well, I was going to go with Karai to this hair stylist she recommended. We could meet at the swings at 5?”

“It’s a date” he said, and winked for full effect.

April nodded her head, sealing the deal with a little smile, and that did it for Casey. This was April, and she was finally going to give him a chance. He beamed back at her before she turned to insert her keys into the lock, and then she paused.

“Can I just ask something?” she said, swiveling on the spot. “Could we not mention this to the guys just yet?”

Casey frowned.

“Oh… why?”

April’s fingers fidgeted nervously with her keys.

“I don’t want them to make a big deal out of it yet.”

Casey thought to himself how the only one who was making a big deal out of this was April herself, by asking him to keep it a secret. He wished she would just go ahead and say “I don’t want Donnie to know yet” instead of beating around the bush. He would’ve told her too if it wasn’t for that tired expression on her face. He had to admit, this slightly tainted the prospect of a date with April, but he decided to let this one slide for tonight and see where she went with this. Even when he had a strange feeling that there was more to all this than April let out.

He promised he wouldn’t tell and she said goodnight from her door before closing it behind her.

Casey had been waiting for this moment forever. So why didn’t it feel amazing?

  


* * *

 

On the other side of the planet, in Japan, Hachisu-no-Hana kneeled in front of her clan’s _butsudan_ , an altar containing dozens of _ihai_. These spirit tablets were the only vestige of the lost members of the clan, the only family she’d known, struck down unjustly by a dishonorable enemy.

It had been a long time since Hachisu had been the treasured flower of the Lotus, years ago when she was a child, before she’d even begun training as future _kunoichi_ . Those happy days full of promise were long gone, and now that she had been proclaimed the _kashira_ , leader of the clan, she was responsible for its decimated remains.

Their home burned to ashes, the remaining Lotus had been forced into hiding. They had found an old abandoned villa in the countryside and conditioned it to their needs, cleaning out the stables and laying out tatami floors to train on. They improvised futons to sleep on and repaired the house’s leaks and cracks much in the same way they were trying to fix their own broken spirits. Pushing on, taking refuge on routine.

As she breathed in the burning incense, she visualized the essence of her ancestors soaking through her, giving her strength, and she meditated about the near future when she’d be leading her people through what would likely be their last mission.

And maybe that was best.

As far as she was concerned, there was no better way to die, restoring the honor of the clan in a final blaze of glory, avenging the dozens upon dozens of innocent lives the Foot Clan had taken. This last time they wouldn’t fail. She wouldn’t fail.

Her eyes drifted away from the altar, and she opened her hand to look at the little trinket contained in it. The pendant’s intricate carvings and ornaments were imprinted on the reddened skin of her calloused palm. She hadn’t realised how tightly she’d been holding it. Wearily she regarded the object, feeling the presence within, snaking its way up her arm and enveloping itself all around her. A shiver ran up her spine. It still made her uneasy.

“Kashira” came a hushed voice behind her and she started, quickly hiding the pendant in the sash of her uniform in a reflex. She then turned to see her second in command kneeling before her and waiting for an acknowledgement.

“What is it, Jiro?” she asked, her voice terse, hardened by years under the crushing weight of command. The old man had once been her teacher, before she was proclaimed leader. She could tell his joints hurt from kneeling on the floor like that, but he would not have it any other way.

Jiro lifted his eyes but didn’t look directly at her like he used to, instead maintaining his head bowed in a show of respect. “We have received word on the whereabouts of Oroku Saki.”

The kashira sat up straight.

“He is operating in New York.”

“Are you certain of this?” she demanded in a voice that only barely revealed the agitation under the stoic exterior, like a treacherous current at the bottom of a calm ocean surface.

Jiro only nodded curtly and the silence that followed told her he was waiting for her to give the word.

“Then we must communicate it to rest of the clan. Call a meeting” Hachisu ordered, rising to her feet.

Jiro gave a final nod and followed the woman out the door.

Once everybody was gathered in the common room, all fifteen remaining clan members kneeling on the tatami before their kashira, Hachisu motioned for her second in command to announce the news.

As the information sunk in, the emotions on the faces of Hachisu’s followers went quickly from shock to an unabashed fury, and at the mention of Oroku Saki’s name, more than one pair of eyes ignited with a lust for combat. The youngest of them trembled with excitement.

“So what in hell are we waiting for?” exclaimed a young man barely sprouting his first facial hairs.

“Wakai! Watch your language! We are not in a tavern. Furthermore, we cannot be hasty about this” yelled Jiro with exceptional firmness, but it wasn’t enough to placate a boy’s anger. The novice disregarded the old man’s words.

“Hasu,” said the boy, inappropriately using Hachisu’s pet name, “those miserable dogs will disappear again if we don’t hurry! We _must_ be hasty! Ruthless! We can’t let them escape this time! We should slice their throats on sight and make the Shredder and his followers die the slow, dishonorable death that they deserve, let their bodies rot among their own waste, like the scum they are-”

“Silence.” Hachisu barely needed to raise her voice. The room fell into a stillness so deep under her glare that they could almost hear each others’ racing heartbeats. “This attitude will jeapordize our clan’s integrity, and their lives. Learn to contain it. I will not say this again.”

The young man gaped, stunned by his clan sister’s sudden rigid approach towards him when they had always been so close, until he too lowered his head in submission.  
“Hai, kashira.”

“You are ninja now. A soldier. You will go by our protocols.”

“Hai, kashira.”

The next words were directed to the whole of the group.

“We are not dirty thieves that go about ‘slicing the necks’ of our enemy. They will die as they must, but let it not be said that the Lotus Clan didn’t give them an honorable death.”

“You think these Foot Clan weasels deserve to die with honor?” said another _shinobi_ , a veteran of the clan pushing fifty, his square face weathered by decades of service.

Jiro answered for Hasu.

“It doesn’t matter if they deserve it or not, Iwao. What is important is that history knows that the clan who defeated Oroku Saki was a true ninja clan. It’s not about their honor, but ours; the honor of the Lotus Clan. We can never forget that.”

“Kashira.” The soft voice came from a doe-eyed young girl about the age of Wakai. Hachisu, adrift in her own thoughts, lifted her eyes from her knees at the sound. “Will this be the end of our clan?”

Hachisu held the girl in her gaze. Despite her sweet appearance, she had always been cunning as a _kitsune_ , and now she was asking that one question which, deep down, everybody dreaded hearing out loud as much the inescapable answer.

“Maybe, Atsuko” Hachisu said at length. “But not without a fight. Not without first doing our best to cut off the head of Oroku Saki and offering it to our fallen brothers and sisters.”

Atsuko nodded without a hint of doubt or fear. Her integrity became an example for the rest of them. The young woman showed them with one simple gesture that there was nothing else they needed to know and no more questions to ask, and that it was simply the time to act.

They turned their attention then to Hachisu, who once again appeared deep in thought as she caressed the side of her sash. Hachisu’s gesture and odd silence rose a wave of unease in Jiro’s gut, like something was not right. She’d been acting strangely as of late. He tried to regain her attention while concealing his own turmoil.

“Kashira?”

“Yes, Jiro” Hachisu said, her thoughts finally back in the room with them and taking her hand down from her sash to rest on her thigh.

“What must we do?”

“You know what we must do, my faithful Jiro” she said, then turned to the other loyal faces around the room. “We will leave for New York at dawn. Once there we will see, and may our ancestors guide us.”

“So be it, kashira” said Jiro.

She contemplated her followers in silence and with one final nod she brought the meeting to an end, silently giving permission for them to go. Jiro bowed, a gesture that was mimicked by all the others before they all rose and made to leave.

One by one they walked out and soon Hachisu was alone again, listening to their voices as they made their way through the courtyard.

“You’re going to spend the rest of the day cleaning the dojo. And don’t let me catch you with that infernal game device on our trip or I will set fire to it” she heard Jiro scold Wakai, as well as Wakai’s subsequent groan of defeat. The corners of her mouth flicked upwards for a split second.

When their voices faded, she took out the pendant from her sash and held it in her palm, studying it.

If it wasn’t so crazy, she could’ve sworn the pendant had stirred the moment she said the name of Oroku Saki out loud, as if what was inside had shaken like a wounded bird at the mention of its predator. Clearly recent events had disturbed it.

“You must find him, Hachisu-no-Hana. He must die.”

Her breath caught in her chest and she felt her own blood grow cold. There was nobody in the room, but she had heard it as clear as if it had been whispered in her ear, or even… inside her own head. She couldn’t know for sure. Yet she gave the pendant a squeeze, because this she knew:

“It’s you again, isn’t it?” she asked the emptiness as levelly as she could, but the only answer was the frigid grip of ghostly fingers on her shoulders. She slumped and tensed under the invisible weight.

“He will die. He will pay” she choked. This anger and this sadness that she was feeling weren’t just hers anymore. The emotions oozed from the pendant now gripped between her fingers and digging into her palm, and they coursed through her veins as though they were her own. Like the ringing in her ears after a deafening sound, the voice was back.

“I’m counting on it, Hachisu-no-Hana.”

A lock of black hair fell over her face and Hasu shut her eyes tight when she realized it wasn’t hers.

“You can’t fail.”

“I won’t.” And it was just as much a promise to herself as it was to the soul whose feelings of betrayal could barely be contained in that tiny, chipped piece of ceramic.

Slowly, as though reassured by her promise, the weight on her shoulders receded and she was finally able to move. She stood and scrambled over to the adjacent room to place the pendant in the little wooden box covered with engraved _ofuda_ , sealing it closed with a hasty click. She let out a breath of relief as momentarily she felt the pressure wane.

The chill running through her bones, however, took a while longer to dissipate.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Karai gets a new look.  
> Raph wishes they had more than one bathroom.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woo!
> 
> Welcome back, and if you like please leave a lil' comment. They mean a lot to us and they help keep us motivated. Feedback is also appreciated!
> 
> Still building up the setting here, so it's going to be a fairly light-hearted, fun chapter. Also a little reminder: this is still an Apritello fanfic ;)
> 
> Enjoy!

 

* * *

Raph could tell it was morning both by the sounds of activity going on outside his door and the tense discomfort in his bladder. Groggily he kicked off the bundle of sheets tangled around his legs and rolled off his bed. He scooted for the bathroom through the hallway and across the common room and a wave of distress slapped him in the face when he found the door was locked from the inside.

"Who's in there? I really need in!" he cried, knocking on the wooden surface.

"It's me!" said Karai's voice.

"And me!"

Raph reeled at the sound of Mikey's voice also coming from beyond the door.

"Are you both in there?" he shrieked in bewilderment.

"Yeah, I'm doing my makeup while also providing Mikey with some emotional support."

"It's stuuuuck," Mikey whined pitifully, after which Raph heard him groan in effort.

Oh, crap. Literally. Nevermind that this seemed so wrong, they were also going to take forever and he really needed to go.

"Hey Raph, while you're waiting, write down whole-wheat cereal on the shopping list! Mikey needs more fiber!"

"Can you put that on pizza?"

Raphael grimaced considering the implications. "YOU'RE DISGUSTING! Come out and do that yourselves! It's my turn!"

"Your turn was fifteen minutes ago, Raph. You skipped it so now you have to wait."

"I'm gonna burst!"

"Tell it to the bathroom schedule."

"YOU PIECES OF-"

Raph growled in frustration, giving the piece of paper nailed to the door a look of pure hatred, maybe hoping it would spontaneously disintegrate by the sheer intensity of his glare. If not, he would just shred that stupid bathroom schedule into confetti and throw it on Karai's stuck-up face.

"Dude, just go in the sewers!" Mikey's voice said.

"What?! I'll dump YOU both in the sewers!"

"This is what happens when you don't follow the bathroom schedule, Raph," Leonardo said coolly behind him as he passed by with an empty cup of tea.

"Oh, bite me, Leo. You always get up two hours before any of us do, you fanatic."

"Early bird gets the worm," Leo said with a smug smile, walking away. "Or in this case the.."

"Ugh, just shuttuuuup," Raphael groaned. "I mean, seriously! One bathroom for a family of six?!"

That's it! They didn't need a bathroom schedule; they needed a second bathroom.

At that very moment, Donatello made to walk by with a fresh cup of coffee and his laptop.

"Hey Donnie, you know, we're definitely gonna need you to build another bathroom."

"Sure thing, Raph. Would you like one jacuzzi or two?" Donnie replied in the sweetest voice before grievance took over his features. "I'm not your plumber! I have more important things to do!"

"What are you talking about! This is extremely important!" Raph's legs curled around his own crotch, his voice coming out a bit squeakier than he would've liked.

"If you think so, pick up a manual, or find a tutorial on youtube, and do it yourself! Or just follow the bathroom schedule..." Donnie concluded gracefully, heading for his lab and sipping on his fuming coffee, clearly having no time for this crap.

"Aarrgghh! If I hear any of you say bathroom schedule again I'm gonna-"

And a fraction of a second before Raph would've popped a vein, the bathroom door swung open and out came Karai and one ecstatic-looking Mikey.

"All yours, big guy," she sneered, only growing more amused the angrier Raph looked.

He scrunched up his face in disgust and defeat as the odors from within hit his nostrils. He could almost feel a little part of his brain rot away instantly. How could she be in there for so long and not drop dead?

"Dude, put some clothes on, I can see your elbows!" Mikey gasped like a Victorian dame. "And your knees!"

"Shut up already, Roger Rabbit! What are you, girlfriends with Karai now?!"

Raph swung, but Mikey was too quick and he was in too much of a hurry, so he allowed his clown of a little brother to roll away inside his shell. It was at times like these that Raph wished he were an only child, he thought gloomily as he scrambled inside locking the door behind him.

Karai then strolled her way towards Leo, who was just back from the kitchen, and smacked his lower shell lightly with Mikey's magazine before setting it down on the bench.

"Morning, Leo! Ready for another training session where I profusely kick your shell?"

The turtle adopted his most indignant Queen Leo expression and headed for the dojo without another word.

* * *

The paper screens never were all that good at blocking the noise, but Splinter still paid little to no attention to the screams and the insults -a routine side effect of being the father of a bunch of teenagers- as he balanced the Sword of Yurikawa on his palms, weighing it. It must have been the fifth time he had performed all the various quality tests, but it was so satisfying how perfectly balanced and how excellent the overall craft was. The master ninja swung the sword around in a flourish, the metal singing through the air as though slicing it, before lovingly sliding it back into its sheath.

He lingered there, gazing at the object as if he could see his children's faces on it. And Miwa… It had been her idea. The thought stirred a well of warmth inside him.

There wasn't a day in which Miwa didn't do something that reminded Splinter of her mother. Whether it was her tendency to hide behind a mask of strength and composure, or a simple gesture, Splinter marvelled at how amazingly similar they were. She couldn't possibly remember seeing Tang Shen do those things. However did she acquire such mannerisms?

There was only one place worthy of his newest treasure. He had already prepared the space on the wall just above the dojo's kamidana, and he stretched to gently let the sword sit on the hanger. Like a guardian of the rest of his keepsakes and souvenirs, each holding a cherished memory. And once again, after seventeen years, the current Miwa was a part of it all, in the picture from the previous night that Donatello had printed, and in the fine weapon that had made her think of him.

Splinter nodded his head in approval at the ensemble just in time to greet the turtles, his daughter and Casey, who were at that moment entering the dojo all prepared for their daily warm-up and training.

"Good morning, my sons and daughter. Are you ready for today's training?"

"You're in a merry mood today, sensei," Donatello observed, smiling in reaction to Splinter's cheerful tone and pose, his ears pointing straight upwards and his hands held loosely behind his back in a carefree manner.

"After our little party last night, how I could I not be?" Splinter said, wiggling his whiskers with satisfaction.

"I see you've made some rearrangements to the kamidana," Leo added, signalling towards the shelf.

"Ah, you've noticed. Yes. Your gifts had to occupy their rightful place among my dearest possessions, of course."

The whole of the group approached the kamidana to better see the new additions, pausing to revisit the older elements as well. There was the turtle tank where they had all swam once as babies, all those years ago, and it seemed impossible that they had even fit in something so tiny. Especially lanky Donatello…

Displayed were also Splinter's old photos, sole proof of his past life, his human self posing next to Tang Shen and a baby Karai. And now the Sword of Yurikawa and the new family picture from the celebration at Murakami's, with every member present, were part of this miniature museum of Splinter's life.

"It came out nice! Flattering!" Mikey said, pointing at all the smiling faces in the photograph.

"Yeah, except for that hobo that photobombed us. When did that happen? Oh, nevermind, it's just Casey," Raph said through a scathing grin. The joke received the approval of the siblings, who all broke into thunderous laughter.

Casey, who had that day decided to skip first period after all and come to the training as audience, let out a menacing growl that only spread Raph's smile wider still. Splinter imposed order with a dry clap of his hands and the youngsters all went immediately silent, even when a few tears of laughter still ran down some of their cheeks and it was hard to keep composure.

"Alright, there has been enough lollygagging. Let us begin."

"Hai, sensei!" they all replied in unison, bowing before their master. All except Casey, of course… Splinter gave each sibling a curt nod indicating their positions, and shot another one at Casey, signalling a corner where he could settle in and watch, and he was in such good mood that not the faintest trace of disapproval crossed his features at the boy's casual disregard for protocol.

* * *

It was a Friday, so April wouldn't be showing up at the lair until much later, if at all. Casey, however, considered hanging out in Raph's room would be a much better use of his time than sitting at a desk having complex equations go in one of his ears and come out the other. Even after Raph's insulting joke, the notion of reconsidering and going to class instead of hanging out was outmatched by his deep dislike of Algebra. If he was feeling pissed at Raph, they could always smack it out of each other. But he couldn't fight equations, and throwing the book across the room was never satisfying enough.

Because the turtles had just come out of training, there was a pungent smell of sweat in the air, probably accentuated by the flapping of Raph's arms as he pounded away at his drum set in the enclosed space of his bedroom. Meanwhile Casey lay on Raph's bed, drawing in his sketchbook.

Casey didn't mind the smell of macho. He was more than used to it and he associated it with good things, like hockey, or spending hours beating the crap out of thugs with Raphael. If anything, it inspired him, and he was currently in the zone, his pencil scribbling away so fervently the paper could catch fire.

The best thing was, he had the perfect anatomy model right there in the room with him. Casey had to admit, Raph was packing a fairly impressive set of guns. Funny how there was a lot more Raph in these pages than even April, he thought. But then again he always preferred drawing testosterony things like monsters and big, brawny dudes, and Raph could count as both.

Damn! That reminded him…

"By the way, Raph. Can we-" he stopped short when he realised Raph couldn't even hear him over the deafening drum solo. Casey took off a shoe and hurled it at him. The shoe reached its target and the noise died instantly.

"What gives, Jones!" Raph yelled rubbing the side of his head.

"Yeah, uh, I almost forgot to tell you, I can't make it tonight. We'll have to kick Purple Dragon ass another time."

Raph put down his drumsticks.

"What? But we already knew where these guys would be tonight, remember? We spent an entire afternoon following them around for this!"

"We'll do it again tomorrow! It can't be that urgent."

"What the hell, man. You never skip on a good beating. Especially not with the Purple Dragons."

"Yeah, I just got this… commitment." Casey winced. He really was trying hard not to give it away like April asked.

"Commitment? With who?" Raph said and threw him back his shoe. "You don't make commitments! Not unless they involve busting some heads."

Casey finished putting on his shoe without bothering to untie the laces first. He was this close to lying for April, but he figured it couldn't hurt to tell Raph. In truth it could hurt not telling him, as the knowledge of having been lied to would surely provoke his fury. He'd been dying to tell someone anyway.

"Uh, well… Don't spread this around, okay? But April and I kind of have a date today. I'm gonna meet her at five."

Raph's eyebrows quirked. He looked surprised and a little taken aback.

"Oh," he said a little too casually. "Okay. Well, why didn't you just say so?"

Casey gave a non-committing shrug and tried to make himself look distracted with his drawings.

"I dunno, cuz… This is my first real date with April, you know? It's a big deal." He deliberately left out the part where April practically begged him not to tell anyone.

"So you had to keep it a secret?"

"Not a secret, okay? We just didn't wanna call attention to it."

"Does Donnie know?"

Casey felt his stomach drop at the mention of Donatello, and he wasn't even sure whether it was because of guilt or annoyance or both.

"I dunno, I… I didn't tell him…And April asked me not to, so..."

Raph sighed, which only made Casey more nervous.

"Dude, what do you want? It's not like I'm making April do this, you know? She asked me. And Donnie'll just have to deal."

Raphael puffed.

"Look, I'm not my brother's nanny, alright? He can take care of himself," he said in a bad attempt at appearing level-headed.

"Okay…" Casey wasn't the most observant of persons, but it didn't take a genius to know Raph was peeved. He tried to think of something to say that could ease the tension. "Well… maybe you can help me out! Look! What do you think of this shirt?"

Raph gave Casey's forced cheerfulness a leveled stare as the kid took out the crumpled garment out of his bag and slipped it on over his other T-shirt, after which he stood, showcasing the combination to his audience. But the audience was clearly not in the mood for a show.

"I dunno what to tell ya, man. I mean, it's got sleeves, it's got the tiny buttons on the front."

"Come on, man. I took this out of my old man's closet. You think she'll like it?"

"Do I look like I would know anything about shirts or girls?" he grumbled out as he walked around his drum set to head for the exit, his mouth a straight line. "Imma take a shower, if the bathroom schedule will allow it."

"Wait! Raph!" Casey called after the turtle, and was met with a stiff glare. "Just do me a favor and don't tell anyone, okay? If anyone asks, I'm at the rink, or out with you or something."

"Okay, fine," he mumbled then marched out the door. "You two have fun."

"Thanks," Casey muttered to himself once he'd left, throwing his hands in the air in surrender.

* * *

The two kunoichi had been sitting on those swings for a while now and Casey was already running late.

April grazed the side of her head distractedly with her fingertips while they waited, tracing the french braid that ran from her temple over her ear and down towards her neck. She couldn't stop touching it. The feel was strangely addictive.

"Looks good on ya, Karai said with a knowing look.

"Thanks. It's a little more daring than what I'm used to."

Of course, next to Karai's new look, April's braid and colored streak would hardly catch anybody's attention, and immediately she felt stupid for considering such a trivial thing 'daring'. Karai was sporting the punk-est haircut April had ever seen; shaved sides, the top combed forward ending in a set of pointy bangs colored red and the back pulled into a ponytail, the tips brushing her neck at shoulder height. It matched the torn jeans and leather jacket she was wearing nicely.

The overall look was almost as imposing as the wearer herself and memories of the old Karai flashed through April's mind. After months of letting her hair grow as it would, this seemed like a form of expression. It was as if she was trying to regain that part of herself that had been dormant ever since her world had been flipped upside down.

This wasn't the first time they'd hung out together, Karai and her. Back when she was a new arrival at the lair, after having been turned back to human by Donatello's special retromutagen, April had helped her out in the wardrobe department. She'd let her borrow her clothes at first before it turned out she was more comfortable wearing Casey's dingy old sweatshirts anyway, rather than her yellow tank tops which she actually refused to go out in public with. Later she would offer to go shopping with her and she would let herself be dragged through the more obscure parts of town looking for the kind of stuff she liked. After what she'd been through, April only wanted to chip in in whatever way she could.

And yet even now April would be lying if she said she didn't still find her energy and forwardness a bit daunting. Even after months of coexisting, her makeup arsenal replenished and her assigned bedroom slowly acquiring a lived-in feel to it, having a casual conversation with Karai could still prove a challenge. Nevermind the fact that she'd tried to kill her more than once, Karai was also an energetic, cocky kunoichi with a personality that couldn't go unnoticed if she really tried. And when she wasn't brooding, she was cracking jokes at everyone's expense, no matter whose dignity had to be sacrificed.

But there was a will there, to belong, to amend, that April admired, and she was more than happy to help her find that happy place.

"You know, Karai? I'm glad you're with us. I was missing some feminine company after my best friend turned out to be a kraang spy," April said, and it wasn't a lie at all. Maybe she was trying to sound more optimistic about Karai than she felt, but she wasn't lying.

"Really? I'm so used to the absence of 'feminine company', I don't even notice," Karai replied with a touch of pride.

"How come?"

Karai leaned back on the swing, legs sprawled in a display of burly content.

"I didn't have many girl friends when I was growing up. There were other women in the Foot, of course. But me being Oroku Saki's daughter they were beneath me, so we never talked."

There it was now- hesitation- filtering through the cracks of Karai's mask of confidence at the mention; guilt, uncertainty, shame… The once Princess of the Foot had spoken with all the ease in the world. Could've fooled anyone. But not April.

"Must have been tough," she offered gently, waiting to see if Karai was up for it. After barely a couple of seconds, Karai responded.

"Yeah, it was, when I was younger," she shrugged, relentless in her efforts to appear as though she didn't care anymore. "At times I wondered what it would be like to be one of those girls who go to school in their uniforms and talk about boys, but as the years went by I was too busy to care. In the end I grew to like that kind of lifestyle. It made me feel empowered; superior."

A beat as she debated whether to tell her, the creaky chains of the swings being the only sound between them.

"Can I confess something?" she said finally, a hint of childlike shame in her black lined eyes. "Sometimes I miss it "

"What?"

"Being Oroku Karai."

Afraid that April might've gotten the wrong idea, Karai immediately backpedaled.

"Not like that. It's just that… My life was resolved. I had my road all paved out for me, I knew who I was, and who I wanted to be. It was easy. And now it's all different, and nothing's clear..."

At her own words, the kunoichi gave April a tentative look laced with remorse. She looked as if she regretted saying that out loud, but deep down she knew Karai had been aching to tell someone this for a long time.

"Well… now you can pave your own road," April offered brightly. "You have a thousand doors open for you and you can choose what path to take."

Karai chuckled.

"Were you bitten by the Splinter bug too? It must be contagious."

Leo, who half the time acted as if he was trying out for Splinter Junior, came to mind especially.

Catching the small rut of April's brow, she quickly added "You know what? You're right. Back then I thought I had everything I ever wanted at arms reach, when really I didn't know what I was missing out on. But at least I get a chance to just be a girl now."

April gave her an encouraging smile.

"Glad you see it that way."

Karai scooched her swing closer to April's, suddenly serious and speaking in a grave voice.

"Hey, I know this is hard for you, being with me…"

April tried to look surprised.

"No! No way!"

"Don't be silly, of course it is! Not too long ago we were both fighting to the death in this very park."

"I-"

"No, hear me out! Look, I know apologizing wouldn't help. Besides, I'm terrible at it, and it would be a lie…" Karai clutched April's arm, thinking she was going to run away. "Well, actually, not exactly a lie! I said that because the person I was is not the person I am today, if that makes any sense... " Realizing what she was doing, she quickly let go of April's arm and groaned in frustration. "Did I ever say I'm really bad at this?"

In her mind Karai knew that was an understatement. The kind of people she'd been surrounded by growing up, her rigid upbringing, everything and everyone in her life had taught her that any emotion outside of rage or hatred was a sign of weakness. She was having a rough time trying to counteract those teachings, hard as she tried.

April sensed her anguish and quickly interjected, her hand on her shoulder.

"It's okay! I get what you mean."

Karai stared at her in hopeful expectancy.

"Besides, you may have beat the crap out of me that day, but I totally messed you up," April said with a smirk, an attempt at being amusing.

Karai, her gaze still fixed on hers, started laughing in guffaws giving April's shoulder a friendly swat, and April declared it a success.

"Not just! You threw me down a flight of stairs. Good job, by the way! I'm still feeling that one."

"Hell yeah."

"You were pretty good. I've been training for this since I was four, and you still held your own. A few years of training with father plus a few tips from me," she added with a wink and a grin, "and you're on your way to becoming a great kunoichi."

"Thanks."

"Don't thank me yet. You're still many bruises and sprained ankles away from all that. But don't worry, I'll gladly provide my share of those."

Karai punched her own palm for emphasis.

"Ooh, yeah… I'm looking forward to it," April said, and winced just thinking about it. Still she smiled, feeling a lot more animated. Karai returned the smile, and this time it wasn't sly or evil; it was a genuine, thankful smile.

"So hey," Karai said then. "Let's talk about something a little lighter while we wait for Mr. Jones, what do you say?"

"Sure!"

"We could try some girl talk. Like what's the deal with you and Casey?"

Right away April panicked. Out of all the topics...

"What do you mean?"

"You guys going on a date?"

"No, we're just gonna hang out for a while."

"And what about Donnie?" she asked craftily, wiggling her eyebrows. April scoffed.

"What about him? We're friends. We're all just friends," April assured, waving her hands around.

"Okay, fine. I was trained in the art of touchy subjects, and I think I just hit the bullseye. But you were very cool to me today so I'll let that rest for now."

April wasn't quite sure whether that was supposed to make her feel relieved or threatened.

"Thanks, I think."

Of course the inexhaustible warrior pressed on.

"But hey, while we're on the subject of boys… You've known the guys for a long time. Tell me at least once you've seen them take out their joysticks."

It took April a couple of seconds to process the question.

"What?!"

Suddenly she was wishing they could go back to talking about ninjas and beating the shit out of each other. It served her right for hoping the next conversation topic could be a little less compromising.

"Come on, you've lived with them for long periods of time even! Don't tell me you never tried to take a peek, you know, in the bathroom…?"

"NO!"

"Not even out of scientific curiosity? You can't tell me you never wondered what they looked like."

"I am… not…"

"You ever seen an actual turtle's? I'm actually a little concerned, aren't you? I mean, being part human I'm expecting something more familiar and a little less… from an Alien movie, but who knows?"

"Are you listening to yourself?"

Oh, Karai was most assuredly listening to herself. And she was enjoying every word.

Meanwhile April's cheeks were almost brighter than her hair now and she was unable to articulate full sentences, merely mouthing the beginnings of words like a fish out of water.

Just like an act of divine providence, Casey entered the scene.

"Hey, sisters." He walked up to the two girls, the gravel crunching under the sole of his sneakers.

April lifted her gaze up at her saviour and immediately jumped to her feet.

"Casey! Thank God, let's go!"

"Wait, so what were you two girls talking about?" Casey said, realizing they must have been discussing something really interesting to make April want to flee like that.

"Turtle penises."

"Oh," Casey said, eyebrows raised in interest. "Cool. Please fill me in."

"Casey, no!"

"Nah, we didn't get anything clear," Karai said disappointedly.

"Nice hair by the way."

"Thanks! Say, Casey, you're a guy. You ever seen Raph's winky?"

"Nah, he's kinda private about it and always switches to ninja mode when he has to go."

"I'm seriously considering looking through Donnie's notebooks, I'm sure he's got some anatomical study somewhere."

"Probably! Dude's always prepared..." Casey shrugged, and to someone who didn't understand English the conversation might have seemed as innocuous as if they'd been talking about the weather. April couldn't take anymore of such flagrant lack of shame.

"That's it. I've had enough penis talk for today," she stated, yanking Casey's arm to haul him away from the swings.

"Hey, you know I was kidding about the whole spying on them in the toilet, right?" Karai yelled after them, not caring one bit how many apartment blocks were alerted to the kind of conversation they'd been having or how many heads were turned in the vicinity.

"And that's why I don't go in the lair's bathroom anymore," Casey pointed out with a snicker as they both ran from the scene, speeding down the street.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Remember, reviews are writer chow!


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Donnie is Karai's surrogate grandma.  
> April and Casey's date goes South a few dozen degrees.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fluffiness and a bit of action in this chapter!
> 
> Also note: this is still an Apriltello fanfic, among other things. Just a friendly reminder^^

As soon as they were safely outside of Karai's area of effect, as well as her rather spicy topics of conversation, April finally felt relaxed enough to officially start her date with Casey.

"You're a little late," April groused and Casey made an arrogant heave of his chin.

"Casey Jones is never late. Only fashionably late."

The boy flashed a gap-toothed grin like he was naively trying out for a toothpaste commercial.

"You call 21 minutes fashionable?" she said, pointing at her watch, one eyebrow raised.

"A date with Casey Jones is worth all the wait."

She shot him an unimpressed look.

"Well at least you kept  _one_ of your promises. You're actually wearing a shirt," she observed, and how couldn't she? It looked like the shirt was the only thing different on his attire, which looked like the same he wore at dinner the previous night. It left her wondering if he'd actually slept with those clothes on.

"Sure am," Casey said, looking down at himself, his striped white and blue shirt a couple sizes too big. "How do I look?"

"Dashing," April laughed. "The combination of dress shirt, torn jeans and bandana is very… artistic."

"I would call it cosmopolitan casual. Besides, I couldn't just take my dad's pants. They'd be falling off me all afternoon."

"Are these your only pants?"

"They're my  _best_ pants," Casey replied smugly, then his eyes latched onto the side of her head. "Hey… Did you get purple highlights?"

"Oh. Yeah, just the one," April said, taking her hand to her right ear to graze it down along the braid. "Karai convinced me. And it's regalia, not purple."

"Looks purple to me. Hey, I like it. Looks good on ya."

"Thanks."

There was a short silence as they turned a corner into a busier street, simply walking shoulder to shoulder like they'd done plenty of times in the past, except this time it was a date. An actual date. Casey seemed pretty chill, but April was biting her lip hesitantly.

"So... you didn't tell anyone, right?" she asked at length.

"No…" Casey lied perhaps a little too quickly and his smile faded. "But I still don't get why we have to keep it a secret."

"It's not a secret, it's just… the omission of unnecessary information. Look, I just don't want the guys making jokes at our expense just yet."

"The guys making fun of us? Since when does that worry you? Are you sure that's all it is?"

"Why do you say that?" April said, knowing in an instant there was no way out of it. She had been compromised.

"Come on, Red. Why don't you just tell the poor guy?"

April scrunched her brow in annoyance, halting before the arcade entrance to face Casey. No point in denying it anymore, she supposed.

"I'll tell him. I just need to find the right moment." And with a loud sigh she added "do you really wanna talk about Donnie on our first date?"

Casey reeled, his eyes wide once he'd realized what the conversation had dangerously derived to. He mentally punched himself in the mouth for it.

"No."

"Then get your butt in there so I can kick it," she ordered, holding the door to the arcade open for him.

* * *

"Saw faster, man!"

"We have to be synchronized, Mikey! You can't just push buttons like a madman!"

"So catch up to me!"

"Will you just… okay hold on! Stop for a moment! I'll set the pace!"

"We can't stop now, just go faster! Go, go, go!"

"Ugh!" Raph let the controller fall in exasperation when the timer reached zero and the letters on screen announced the opposite team's victory. The chubby characters on the screen celebrated to the sound of a cheerful jingle while his little fat man with the crooked moustache and the purple overalls slumped in defeat.

"Aw, man, you suck at this, Raph!"

"What? I oughta break this thing on your hollow head, ya moron!"

The sound of the revolving turnstiles pulled them from their endeavors. Seeing Karai making her way down the steps, Mikey parkoured over the backrest to greet her.

"Big sister!" he shrieked, throwing himself against Karai to give her one of his patented rib-crushing hugs that lifted her off her feet and squeezed the air out of her lungs. Still, Karai smiled and returned the hug as best she could, having already gotten used to her little brother's rather extreme shows of affection.

"Let her go, you doofus, she's starting to turn blue," came Raph's voice from the couch, not so much concerned as irritated. The red-clad turtle picked up one of his Modern Ninja magazines, having given up on the videogame.

"What's up, little brother?" she exhaled, catching her breath once Mikey released her.

The young turtle seemed to notice her new hair then and his eyes scanned her with a look of fascination.

"Whoa! Rad new look!"

"Thanks, Mikey!"

At that very moment Leo was passing by carrying a mug and, at Mikey's words, his head swiveled around like a spinning top. Karai smiled mischievously at his gaping expression, running her hand through her bangs and shaking her head to make them dance.

"What do  _you_ think, Leo?"

"Wow that… looks amazing!"

The mug was full with what appeared to be -and smelled like- coffee, which was obviously not for him because he never drank the stuff. But in his stupor he was slowly tipping the cup over, and the liquid within started going over the rim and dripping to the floor. Karai tilted her chin towards the forming puddle at his feet and Leonardo finally sprung back to reality.

"Aw, man," he said, holding up his foot with the coffee stained bandaging before heading for the kitchen.

"Guess what, sis," Mikey went on after Leo had left. "I think you'll be happy to know that I've solved your name problem."

"My name problem," she repeated, fairly intrigued.

"Yeah, you know, how your name is Karai, but it's really Miwa, but you're still mostly Karai?"

"Ah…" Karai said, finally understanding, and then braced for Mikey's so called solution, partly dreading the sound of her new "better" name.

"I think you could use both names at the same time!" Mikey announced, his arms outstretched in a theatrical pose.

Karai smirked under her confused frown.

"I don't know, Mikey. Karai Miwa is a little long, don't you think?."

"Nooo, nothing so pediatrician!"

The girl giggled to herself at the adorable misuse of words.

"I think you mean pedestrian?"

Mikey stared for a few seconds, his expression blank. Then he continued like she hadn't just said anything.

"I thought of something more awesome-sounding, like you, big sis!"

She couldn't help but smile at the look of admiration that her little brother was giving her, an ample grin on his freckled face, his blue eyes shimmering with excitement.

"So what is it?" she probed, playing along with his anticipation.

Mikey inhaled deeply, getting ready for the reveal.

"Miwarai," he exclaimed finally, his hand making a dramatic arch in front of him like he could see the word written in the air with fireworks. "It's Miwa and -rai, from 'Karai', get it?"

"Aw, Mikey," she said, trying hard to suppress her laughter. "That's great, but… well, it's not a real name."

"Okay, not to worry. I got another one. Karaiwa!"

"Hm... You know, actually that  _is_ a real name, sort of. It's an area of Japan, in the prefecture of Kōchi," she said, amused by the coincidence.

"Hah! See? I'm a genius! That is totally a sign! From now on, I shall call you Karaiwa!"

She cringed at the sound of it, grasping for a way to let Mikey down gently.

"I'll… think about it," she said through her forced smile and Mikey seemed to catch on quickly for once, judging by his puppy dog eyes.

"Y-you don't like it?"

"It's not that I don't like it, it's just…I'm used to the way people call me, that's all," she explained in her best motherly voice while also caressing the smooth dome of his head. "Tell you what:  _you_ can call me Karaiwa if you want, okay?"

"Really?" he said, his eyes sparkling with renewed hope.

"Yeah! It's cute! Karaiwa."

"Sounds like a brand for instant noodles," Raph contributed, a look of derision in his narrowed eyes, before getting back to his magazine.

She did her best to ignore Raph, hoping the mockery would end there. She'd have to warn him to sleep with one eye open if it didn't.

At that moment Leonardo showed up with a cloth to wipe the coffee-scented mess he had caused before while trying not to call too much attention to the consequences of his lapse. Of course it was a moot effort because one of Karai's favorite pastimes was keeping an eye on him and everything he did whenever he was around, with the sole intention of finding anything she could use to further embarrass him for her own amusement. Sneaking up to the the turtle boy, she whispered in his ear:

"So was there enough left inside the cup for you to drink at all?"

Leonardo jumped at the kunoichi's sudden proximity.

"It wasn't for me, it was for Donnie. He was busy with something and I offered to take him his coffee. He said he didn't get much sleep last night," he said, kneading the damp cloth into a ball.

"Well it looks like your kind offering was all for naught," she cooed, patting him on the shell, and Leonardo adopted one of his renowned looks of deepest offense.

"Actually there was plenty in the machine," he retorted petulantly, picking up the mug full of coffee from the floor where he'd left it and showing it to Karai, who only gave it a sideways glance.

"Anyway, and speaking of our resident genius, I'll be in Donnie's lab," she said.

"What are you two up to in there lately?"

"Are you guys planning world domination?" Mikey asked. "Cuz if you manage to convince Donnie, he could totally pull that off for ya with his mad science skillz."

"If we were, we wouldn't be telling you, right? But I'm not interested in that today, I'd just like to look up a couple things in his nerd library," she lied. "I'll take the coffee."

Karai plucked the mug from Leo's hand and wandered off towards the big metal doors, leaving the other two alone.

"Donnie's library? I doubt she'd find anything of her liking there among all that Carl Sagan and Stephen Hawking," Leonardo said rather skeptically, but his thoughts were interrupted by Mikey's hushed words.

"No, but seriously, bro… Can you imagine Donnie going evil? He'd be like this cyborg turtle genius super-villain with murder gadgets and doomsday devices, he'd be like 'Storkman', but a lot worse…" Mikey shuddered, his voice going grave.

"Stop that, you're going to give yourself nightmares and then  _I'll_  have to deal with you."

* * *

The heavy lab door slid open with its unmistakable deep metallic rumbling, momentarily tearing Donnie's concentration away from his computer. He watched Karai slither herself inside through the narrow opening before closing it again behind her.

"Hey," she said with a tip of her head.

"Hey, Karai!"

"Leo made you coffee," she said, holding the mug up for him to see.

"Oh, right! Thanks!"

"Whatcha working on?" she asked Donatello as she crossed the lab towards the workbench, setting the mug down next to Donnie's keyboard on her way there.

"Nothing right now. Just chatting it up with Dr. Rockwell," he replied distractedly.

"MonkeyBrains?" she said, looking over Donnie's shoulder at the username on the chat.

"It was his idea," Donnie shrugged, bemused.

"It's no weirder than any of  _our_ usernames. So you two getting along?"

"Most of the time," he snickered. "You gonna work on your big surprise?"

"Almost done," she sang, taking out the lump of leather that had been lying secretly in one of the drawers and preparing the necessary equipment to continue working on it. "Good thing you let me occupy your lab and borrow your precious gadgets. I don't know how I would've kept this a surprise without your help."

"No problem. I can understand a need for quiet." Donnie smiled, knowing Karai's difficulty at openly showing gratitude. Then he waited a few seconds to casually ask "So how's everything?"

She rolled her eyes in mild exasperation, knowing damn well what he was referring to.

It was no secret that she'd been having a difficult few months. It wasn't just the time spent as a mutant, and the way Shredder had used her to hunt the turtles. Everything she once knew for sure had been proven wrong as well. Too many things had changed, too many walls in her life had been torn down and the landscape of her beliefs had been leveled down to a bed of rubble. She wasn't the same. After curing her mutation, the people she'd once considered the enemy had taken her in. And everybody in the lair of the Hamatos was aware of how she'd been struggling with her new life. Even Raph had been relatively kind, but their general strategy was usually staying away from the topic of her past and avoiding unnecessary questions.

Donatello, on the other hand…

Sometimes she'd swear he was trying to be the grandmother she never had.

"You don't have to ask everyday, Don," she said, throwing him a sideways glance and setting the hole punch on the table with a hollow thunk.

"Just making polite small talk," the turtle said nonchalantly. "And I don't ask every day! I could, though…" he threatened.

"No, thanks, I'm good!" Karai pleaded, palms out as if begging him to spare her life, and he chuckled merrily.

"Glad to hear."

"Yeah, yeah," she said with a dismissive wave of her hand.

After a few more adjustments Karai's work was finally nearing completion, and all that was left were the finishing touches.

"Hey, Don. You wouldn't happen to have a rivet gun?"

Donnie answered without taking his eyes off the screen or his fingers from the keyboard.

"In the closet, top shelf. It's in there somewhere. Rivets are in the bottom drawer."

Karai opened the closet and started digging around the various tools and gizmos that crammed its entrails. She stood on her tiptoes and really buried her hand in there, feeling for the thing she was looking for while trying not to knock down anything else. But there was some kind of wooden box that was in the way and she decided to take it out.

Carefully she pulled on the corners with her fingertips until she could see it over the edge of the shelf and she grabbed it. She was going to put it aside on a nearby table when she saw the golden heart engraved on its lid. She turned the container around in her hands, wondering how in the world had this ended up here, and opened it.

A snort of hilarity forced its way out of her throat at the sight of Donnie's smiling face on a photo greeting her from the inside, a tender melody playing on the revolving mechanism.

"What the heck is th-" she started before a green hand shot up from the side and shut the box with a thud, the music dying instantly.

"It's nothing, just… a thing I brought from the farmhouse," Donatello said evasively, taking the music box from her in haste and stretching to leave it on top of the closet where she couldn't reach it. He looked absolutely mortified, which did nothing but incite her mocking instincts.

"Did you make that for April?" she asked, a provocative grin on her face, and burst in loud giggles. "I doubt she'd like it. Don't let her cute clothes fool you. From what I've learned she's allergic to this type of cheese, especially in such copious amounts."

Donnie scoffed humorlessly.

"Yeah, I noticed," he said, and added with a hint of sadness, "I don't try stuff like that anymore."

"Oh. So you showed her already."

He didn't reply to that, and for a few seconds Karai only watched him fiddle with a marker that he'd picked up from a desk for no apparent purpose before he'd even realized what he was doing. Then he tossed the marker aside, sitting back at his computer.

He was rather adorable, in a hopeless kind of way, and below her devious exterior she felt genuine pity. That he'd been head over heels for April for the longest time was the world's worst kept secret.

A memory crossed her mind, one of Donatello coming to April's aid the night Karai had set out to kill her. She'd been the recipient of his wrath then, the fierceness with which he'd fought her off, almost a year ago now. She put the thought aside, the silt of shame once again stirred to the surface by the reminder.

"Maybe the photo was a bit much. You could've at least chosen one where your eyes don't pierce through the soul," she half-jested, breaking the silence in a feeble attempt to soft-pedal. She carefully approached him and leaned on his desk as he averted her eyes, his lips pressed tight. "So if it's in your lab, on the top shelf and out of sight, I'm gonna guess she didn't accept it, right? Did she make you take it back? That seems a bit cruel."

"Aren't you supposed to be working on your armor?"

Karai chuckled, but gave Donnie's shoulder a friendly nudge.

"Don't be like that, Don. It's not that bad, the gesture was actually kinda cute. Clumsy, but cute."

"Yay."

Karai regarded the turtle thoughtfully. It had just occurred to her that the poor guy was most probably unaware of how at this very moment April was on a date with Casey. It didn't matter what April had told her in words, Karai didn't need to be psychic to see through the ruse. And if she were to go by the fact that April had decided to hide that bit of information from her, it was likely she'd meant for it to be a secret. She decided not to press the matter further. For now, at least...

She ambled her way back to the closet and rummaged some more until she finally found the rivet gun, then brought it back to her bench, all the while maintaining respectful silence. Secretly she couldn't help wondering what she'd do if Leo ever made  _her_ a music box with his picture on it and her heart gave an unexpected flutter.

Then she tossed the thought aside, a smirk spreading on her face, because she knew it was like wondering what she'd do if it ever happened to rain upwards. Pointless. That would never happen. Even if it occurred to him to do something for her, it simply wasn't Leo's style.

* * *

"Noodles are ready!" came Mikey's voice from outside reverberating on the metal doors.

"Coming! Ok, this is the last rivet, I promise," Karai told herself, punching one more spike into the leather. Then she stood back and gave her work a critical once over, gun in hand. "There."

"You're done?" Donnie said from his corner of the lab, getting up from his chair.

"Yes. For real now."

And she quickly put the tool down, sliding it across the table and out of reach to make absolutely sure she attained to that.

"Can I see?" The turtle approached the piece of armor laid atop the workbench, a multitude of metallic rivets and spikes glinting in the light of the lamps. "Whoa! That is  _metal_!"

"Is it a little much? I may have gone overboard with the rivets," she said in a slightly smaller voice that was very unlike her.

"No, I like it! It's very you. All those rivets are bound to give your armor a +2 bonus as well," he joked, although genuinely impressed with the end result.

"I just wanted an armor that doesn't have 'Shredder's daughter' written all over it."

Donnie turned towards her, appraising the change in her expression. His mouth stretched in a sincere smile as he lay a reassuring hand on Karai's shoulder.

"It doesn't. But even if it did, it wouldn't matter."

Karai offered him a thank-you nod.

"You gonna show them?" he asked, motioning towards the exit.

"I'm gonna wait until tomorrow before training. That way I can surprise them  _and_ test it in combat."

"Excellent. Might I suggest AC-DC for the catwalk?"

Karai's mouth and brow contorted into a 'not bad' kind of face at the idea and she started cleaning up all the tools and discarded thread and studs.

"And what will you play when you show April  _her_ armor?" she then asked casually, watching for Donatello's reaction out of the corner of her eye. His look of surprise did not disappoint, and neither did the dark blush on his cheeks.

"What? How- how did you…?"

"I peeked," she shrugged, feigning innocence. "So what made you embark on such a risky voyage?"

At first Donatello had meant to appear displeased, but the scowl was quickly discarded, too distraught by the sudden butterflies in his stomach.

"When you started making yours I thought it would be a good thing for April to have her own kunoichi gear as well. It's long due. I wanted to surprise her."

"Even after…?" Karai tilted her head towards the closet. "Man, Don, I gotta admire your tenacity."

This time Donatello wasn't so forgiving. Apparently she'd gone too far, judging by that fire in his eyes evaporating all trace of timidness.

"I didn't do it to get something in return! I was just hoping to do something nice, that could be useful and… I'm not expecting anything from her, okay?"

Karai was not at all fazed, but raised her hands apologetically.

"Okay, okay…"

"I mean, can't I do something nice for a friend?"

"Sure!"

"Good. I just… wanted to make that clear."

"Roger that."

The room went quiet but for the light tapping of Donatello's fingers on the desk, his eyes darting back and forth indecisively, and Karai waited patiently for him to make the question that was clearly at the tip of his tongue.

"Well- can you at least tell me if she… if you think she'll like it?" he stammered finally. His blush was back and Karai smiled to herself. He was so easy to read. Maybe that's why he was such easy company for her.

However she didn't have time to try and assuage his fears before they heard the heavy lab doors being heaved open.

"What are you guys  _doing_ in here? Your noodles are soaking up all the soup!"

Thankfully the armor was out of sight by the time Raph could finish poking his head in through the opening, buried under a couple of thick tomes on Advanced Magnetism and Applied Microbiology, which Donatello was now pretending to guide her through.

"Yeah, hold on, let us just finish this paragraph," he said casually.

"Dude, if you wanna bond with Karai, homework is not the way to do it. I thought you'd be doing something cooler and more in Karai's field of expertise, you know, like taking over New York," Raph jested, one eyebrow ridge raised.

"Thank you, Raph." Usually when Karai spoke those words, in that order, it wasn't out of gratitude, and Raphael clearly knew this based on the crooked grin of self-enjoyment he was dedicating her.

"You're welcome, sis," he retorted in mock-sweetness before turning away.

Karai hurriedly put the armor away in the drawer before anyone else could see and turning to Donatello she pressed a finger to her lips in a secretive gesture. Donnie acknowledged by pretending to zip his mouth shut and they were off.

* * *

"Man, I can't wait to give this thing to Raph," Casey snickered, holding up what appeared to be a strawberry pink stuffed crustacean creature, the size of a German Shepherd with a white bow on its head. The multiple little arthropod legs on its belly dangled around with its carrier's every step and Casey couldn't look more thrilled about it. "He is going to flip."

April laughed deviously. Knowing Raphael's phobia of cockroaches, there was a slight chance Casey would end up hanging on the wall from a pair of sais, but they'd both deemed it absolutely worth the risk.

"I would so get the whole thing on youtube if it wasn't for our vote of confidentiality," she said, already on pins and needles picturing each of the turtles' reactions.

They had acquired this thing with their combined tickets won at the arcades. They saw it hanging there like a grotesque angel and they had both agreed it was the most adorably disgusting thing they'd ever seen. Its beady eyes were practically begging them to adopt it.

"Sure you wouldn't rather keep it yourself?"

April gave a dismissive wave of her hand.

"No way. It'll be a lot more fun to have around the lair. Let it be a testament to my superior gaming skills. I own like 78% of that doll," she said, taking pride in Casey's offended pout at those words. He was a bit of a sore loser, but being on a date she had the upper hand today.

Looking up at the already darkening sky, another thought occurred. "What time is it?"

"We got time. Movie doesn't start in another fifteen minutes."

"We better hurry up though, we've already paid for these," April said, taking the tickets out of her duffle bag to check the start time.

"Let's take the park! It's a shortcut. And also very romantic," he suggested in a deep voice, wiggling his black eyebrows. April shoved him away with a crooked grin, but agreed to take the shortcut just in case.

They should've known better than to meander through a park at sundown. They'd only barely made it a few yards in along the dusty trail when there was a holler to one side of the path that caught their attention.

"Check it out! Casey Jones dressing all fancy for his girlfriend!"

They turned around to look for the source of the laughter that followed and saw four kids, probably her age or younger, gathering in a group before a vandalized "if your dog poops you scoop" sign post with paint cans in their hands. They were pointing at the pair and cackling derisively.

"Hey, Casey! Are you on a date or on your way to church?"

"Yeah, nice shirt! Did ya borrow it from your dad?"

April turned to look up at Casey with her lips puckered in lofty apathy.

"Old friends, I presume?"

"It's just those kids from my block," Casey said with an air of disgust and his hands balled into tight fists. "They only get together to mess stuff up. Or to mess with people… I caught them smashing a car window to steal a stupid toaster. They have no idea that was me in the hockey mask kicking their sorry asses, or they wouldn't be making fun of me right now."

"Honey, you can do so much better! Wanna try with a real man?"

April let out a groan of revulsion and slid her hand inside her duffle, rummaging for the reassuring feel of her tessen. "You don't even shave, you brat," she muttered under her breath, pretty intent on avoiding any kind of trouble.

"What the hell is that thing you're carrying, Jones?"

They knew they were referring to the horrifying yet somehow sickly sweet bug plushie in Casey's arms.

"Duh, it's Casey's little sister! Don't you recognise the bow?"

April felt Casey tense beside her, hatred rolling from him in waves.

"Just ignore them, Case. Don't fall for it," April said in an attempt to dissuade him from engaging in a fight that he was destined to lose, but Casey's entire attention seemed focused on the morons smacking their thighs and clutching their stomachs in forced laughter. And she knew him well enough to know where this was going.

Oh boy...

"You'd think at her age she would've sprouted wings already!"

Casey snarled, his lip curled upwards.

"Casey..." April warned in a dangerous voice that said 'don't you dare'. The boy only turned around to hand her the plushie and he faced the bullies.

"Hang on, Red! These goons need to be taught a lesson!"

"You think you can postpone the class for another day? We're gonna be late!" She struggled to keep the doll in her arms while tapping her own watch to emphasize her point. "Also, you're gonna get clobbered!"

"Don't worry, April, this will only take a moment!"

"Not even if you weren't outnumbered four to one! The movie, Case!"

But at this point the movie was really just an excuse to keep him from getting into another street brawl, and April pulled on his shirt sleeve begging him to move. At long last, Casey reluctantly obliged, his temple throbbing with contained rage.

"You can come back some other day, and you can bring Raph with you and have some fun with them. But now we better hurry or we won't make it to the theater."

She dragged Casey through the park as fast as he'd go. It didn't help that the group of bullies started tagging along. April could hear the sound of Casey's molars grinding against each other.

"They're lucky I don't have my gear with me, or I'd teach them to mess with Casey Jo-"

His words were cut off by a projectile cup hitting him square in the back of the head, the liquid getting splashed all over his hair and shirt.

For a few seconds Casey remained frozen, his feet nailed to the ground, the sticky syrup dripping down his face as the kids behind them threw guffaws of unpleasant laughter into the night air like coyotes.

"Oh, crap," April squeaked.

Casey started to vibrate like an over-heated boiler. Finally he exploded, and swirled around to pounced at the perpetrator. Growling, he tackled the guy to the ground, a cloud of dust wafting up with the impact.

"Casey, no!" she yelled in vain, holding the ugly plush tightly in her arms as the two rolled around in the dirt like roosters in a cock fight, grunting and puffing while the rest of the goons cheered.

So far Casey seemed at an advantage. He was older and a more experienced brawler, and he'd learned a thing or two from having Raphael as a friend. The bully thrashed and kicked desperately trying to get his adversary off, but Casey had him pinned now, and he was landing punch after furious punch on the guy's guts.

"I bought lemonade from you when we were kids, Joey! You! Ungrateful! Asshole!" he yelled in between blows until the others watching decided their mate had had enough and it was time to intervene. One of them snagged the collar of Casey's shirt and yanked backwards, pulling him off of Joey and throwing him to the ground.

Between the blink of an eye and the next, the tables had turned and now there were too many angry teenagers tossing Casey around like a volleyball. April had been contemplating the prospect of calling for help, but that would take a while and then -of course being Casey- he would most surely get into even more trouble with the cops. Forget the movie; he would end up either in the hospital or in jail if she didn't do something soon, and yelling threats wasn't working. After dancing nervously on her two feet for a bit, she finally came to a decision. With a tired sigh of surrender, she leaned to sit the fuzzy bug creature down on the park bench, promptly reaching inside her bag.

Casey was on the ground now, curled into a ball as the kicks flew from all directions, his cries of pain muffled on his sleeves.

And then suddenly an object flew by spinning and hit one of the teens in the face. It bounced off to hit another one in the back of the head, with that knocking both of them on their rears. Everybody halted and looked around in confusion, spotting the young red-haired girl who was striking a karate pose with a fan in her hand. The fan glistened with a dangerous metallic glow.

Before they had time to process, she swung again. The fan hovered off towards the group of slack-jawed teens at lightning speed, catching a couple of cheeks with its razor-sharp edges before returning to its owner's hand.

The girl held the thing aloft menacingly.

"Get away from him or so help me!" she growled.

A few of the kids were already backing off from Casey's trembling form, gripping their faces where the tessen had left bleeding gashes.

"What the fuck, man! That fan's alive or something!"

"Yeah, unlike you, if you don't get the hell off of him!" she threatened.

They appeared hesitant to be intimidated by a pretty girl waving a fan, so April helped them come to grips with the notion. She made a warning brandish, flashing her fan in front of her. The kids flinched and that made her smile.

Swelling with confidence, she feigned a new attack and they jumped, scurrying away like the weasels they were as she made her way to Casey.

The boy disentangled himself from the pitiful ball he had rolled himself into and started laughing as he accepted April's hand, the idiot, scrambling to his feet with a clipped cry of pain.

"Those assholes!" he chortled, wiping the dirt and blood from his upper lip. "Did you see that? They totally cheated!"

He swayed and April caught his arm, putting it around her shoulders to help him stay on his feet.

"You thought that was funny?" April snapped, infuriated and annoyed by Casey's continued laughter when he was covered in cuts and bruises and could barely stand upright. "Let's get you to my place," she growled.

"Wait!" he groaned and for a second April thought his leg was broken or something. But all he did was reach for the plush sitting on the bench, grabbing one whisker. "Okay," he confirmed and leaned on April with his other arm. The pink crustacean doll dragged on the dirt ground like a deflated balloon as they slowly made their way out of the park.

April scoffed, narrow eyed.

"You douchebag. We already had tickets to that show."

"I can still go, no big deal! You think this will stop me from going to a movie theater? Like literally the only thing you do there is sit for two hours," Casey slurred before he tripped over himself, almost making the two of them fall.

"Are you nuts?" she exclaimed. "Come on. We gotta get you cleaned up."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wooooo loved writing this chapter!
> 
> We never knew the Donarai bromance would be so much fun. What did you guys think?
> 
> Oh and another thing: don't be too discouraged about April apparently rejecting the music box. Just wanted to say that.
> 
> A big thank you, as usual, to our beta reader Queequegg.
> 
> Remember, reviews are fuel for the writing furnace!


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Donnie receives an intriguing message from another time.  
> April's date with Casey isn't going as planned.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh man, this is where it gets exciting!
> 
> Please, guys, if you like, remember to review and let us know! You have no idea how much it motivates us :D
> 
> And as always, a huge thank you to our betas Queequegg and Theherocomplex

Donatello headed straight for the lab after dinner to continue with some of the projects that he had underway; a total of five, currently, if he counted April's armor, which was nearly ready. The search for a mutagen substitute was leading nowhere, and the holo interface prototype was turning out to be a real migraine inducer. But at least the blueprints for the new security grid were just about finished, and the mapping marbles were coming along beautifully if he did say so himself. And what better way to reward his brain for all the hard work than a little glucose for dessert. Together with the coffee, the energy boost would surely recharge his batteries enough to last him a few more hours.

So on his way out from the kitchen following his brothers and sister, he plucked the pop-tart package from the top of the fridge and helped himself to one of the baggies. As he crossed the main room, he started peeling off the wrapper as if he were undressing a lover.

Oh, sweet sugary bliss.

Once in his lab he was so engaged in the thorough licking of the icing that it took him a few seconds to notice the blinking of the cursor on his computer's screen.

Something was not right here. He was sure he'd signed off the chat when he was done talking to Monkey- err, with Dr. Rockwell. His confusion grew when he saw that on the chat window there was a username he'd never seen before, and  _he_ obviously hadn't logged it on to the Hamato network.

The message read simply:

 _ **Duzmachines:**_   _Donatello?_

He stared at the words on the screen for a little bit in mild bewilderment, pop-tart held aloft in his hand, until a closer look at the username made him pause.

Duzmachines _? Damn, that's good. Why didn't I think of that one?_

That aside, he was pretty sure he had never authorized this new addition to the network, which meant this  _Duzmuchines_ had somehow, for some reason, violated his precious system. He wasn't used to it going the other way around.

This simply would not stand.

He promptly gripped the backrest of his chair, spun it and sat himself at the keyboard.

 _ **Allofdisnbrainz:**_   _Alright, who's doing this? And how did you get into this network?_

The reply came almost immediately. Someone had been waiting for him...

_**Duzmachines:** _ _I hacked it :)_

_**Allofdisnbrainz:**_   _No one can hack into my system but me._

_**Duzmachines:** _ _Exactly!_

_**Allofdisnbrainz:**_   _I repeat: who is this?_

_Mikey?_

_How the heck did you do this?_

_**Duzmachines:** _ _Not Mikey..._

Donatello was already typing how he could just track the signal to find out who they were and then there would be hell to pay, and he was half-way through his threat, but Duzmachines was quicker.

A quick typer...

_**Duzmachines:** _ _Listen, we don't have that much time to talk and you're not going to believe me on the first try anyway, so I'll just say it._

_Hold on to your shell!_

_Hold on to your shell... They were definitely a Hamato, or someone very close, and that didn't include many people._ He waited for whatever big news was supposedly about to come and making sure to make the most unimpressed face possible in case of potential hidden cameras.

The awaited text message plopped into existence.

_**Duzmachines:** _ _I'm you, from the future._

Donatello's eyebrow ridges quirked upwards so high on his forehead that his mask came loose.

Well, he had to give them points for creativity.

And execution. Points for execution, too. And he had just been with those guys barely less than three minutes ago in the kitchen.

He could think of a few ways they could've done this, the most probable being that he left the manager open one day and they'd added the new user account while he was in the bathroom, or something. He hadn't set up the network so that anybody could join or invite other people. The mystery was easily solvable if given enough time, but before tracking down the source of the invading signal in order to find the culprit, he figured he might as well have a little fun.

After taking one reptilian bite out of his pop-tart, he hunched over the keyboard and typed avidly, heaving a hushed chuckle of disdain through his nose. If they thought they could outsmart  _him_  they had another thing coming.

 _ **Allofdisnbrainz:**_   _Wow._

_Please tell me those new Nestor5 models are out, I've been dying for one of those._

_**Duzmachines:** _ _Sorry, none of that._

_**Allofdisnbrainz:**_   _OK, well at least tell me they found the Prothean ruins on Mars._

 _ **Duzmachines:**_   _No, but I invented Omnigel. True story._

 _ **Allofdisnbrainz:**_   _Cool! That must have been one heck of a fight against the evil pharmaceutical institution. Thankfully the Nobel Prize was worth it. And of course the gratitude of all of humanity._

_Had any problems with copyright or did you just patent it with a different name?_

_**Duzmachines:** _ _I expected you would take this as a joke._

_**Allofdisnbrainz:**_   _Right, because you're me from the future, so you would know that._

_**Duzmachines:** _ _Right._

_Look, Donatello, you've obviously decided to play along just for giggles so this could go on_ ad infinitum _._

_I would know. Pranks can get quite creative if Mikey's involved, am I right?_

_So can I get your permission to skip the preambles so I can prove to you that I'm really you?_

Donatello scowled, thinking they weren't making this as fun as he'd expected and he was quickly growing weary of it all. They must be building up one hell of a punchline.

And did they just admit Mikey was the culprit? The idea sure was Mikey's style, but the execution… How did Mikey do this? How could any of his siblings do this? Absurd. Although inexplicably he had seen Mikey do more impressive things with Kraang tech...

He pushed his chair away from the desk, getting up and crossing the lab in four giant strides. Peeking outside, he spotted Mikey on the couch deeply invested in his shooter videogame.

_I'm not sure what I expected._

He went back to his desk, looked around askance as if the anatomy posters on the walls could hold an answer, then sat down again. He stared blankly at the screen for a few seconds, the cursor blinking steadily over the last received message.

"Hey, Mikey?" he called loudly, not taking his eyes off the chat.

"Yeaaah?" came Mikey's voice from the living room.

"Where's Raph?"

"Uh, he's out scouting."

"What about Casey?"

"Gotta be with Raph, obviously!"

Donnie's brow knitted in thought.

"Leo?" he yelled, though this was hardly Leo's style.

"Leo's meditating in his room, Splinter's in the kitchen cleaning, and I can hear Karai's music from here," Mikey recited all in one, seemingly just to get it over with. "Dude, what's with the roll call?"

"Nevermind!"

Donnie hummed to himself. Who else could it have been? Who else did he  _know_? April? He picked up the T-phone and wrote a text.

 _ **Allofdisnbrainz:**_   _Hey, what are you up to?_

April's reply took a minute.

_**RednYelloKillaFello:** _ _Hey._

_Videochat with dad. Why?_

_**Allofdisnbrainz:**_   _No reason. Just bored._

_Talk later._

He put the phone down. The possibility that this could still all be part of a very elaborate ruse and everybody was in on it was still real, of course, but…

He gauged the different possible explanations and assigned percentages. The results were interesting: it was actually more probable for this to be actual future Donatello than for any of his brothers to have found a way into his system. Could they have gotten help from someone? Dr. Rockwell was brilliant but, as far as Donatello knew, a noob in the field of computer engineering.

The prank was quickly losing its comedic properties. In fact, Donnie was now starting to doubt this was a prank at all so much as someone messing with him, and he was now worried that this guy, whoever it was, knew about him and Mikey, and probably many other things.

He was starting to panic, considering the shut down of his computer and a complete system reformatting just in case, to get rid of the invasion.

But he stopped himself short of pulling the plug. Whoever this guy was, he knew too much, and Donnie couldn't just lose track of him. Time to locate this asshole.

The chat pinged just as he was firing up the program to do just that.

_**Duzmachines:** _ _Hey, listen. We're running out of time to talk and I'd really like to get somewhere with this as soon as possible, so I'm just gonna give myself permission._

_Because I knew you'd need it, I've already got something good in store._

Donatello shrugged to himself.  _What the hell, let's see what they got._

 _ **Allofdisnbrainz:**_   _Shoot._

_**Duzmachines:** _ _There you are! OK._

_When you were 7, you got an idea for a working model spaceship that you planned to build out of an old washing machine. You kept the project hidden because everybody was teasing you so much about being obsessed with the old "Cosmos" series._

_You named your project "Ship of the Imagination". Everything was going well until it exploded._

_Luckily you were wearing goggles but Master Splinter got so mad that he confiscated all your precious chemicals and tools._

_You've never told this story to anyone._

Donatello's jaw dropped.

The dude from the chat was right: he'd never told  _anyone_. Sure, everybody caught the explosion, and they'd laughed at his cost for weeks. But the project's purpose and name? Yeah, those parts he left out, and the blueprints were all coded in his made-up language. There was no way they'd let him forget about it in years if they found out, and he'd had enough of their wise-cracking to last a while.

He hadn't thought about that incident since he was 12.

_**Duzmachines:** _ _I could've gone with something even more personal for greater impact, but I've sort of got an audience and you know how our brothers are. Sorry I had to give away our secret to these lewd bastards, they're laughing themselves stupid as I type._

Donnie made a choked sound and stroked an imaginary goatee, trying to process what was happening. The tracking program was taking its sweet time as well. Apparently the signal was very weak, and it had made a very long trip.

He had to admit, he had no explanation for this.

 _ **Duzmachines:**_ You still there?

...pinged the stranger in the chat...

* * *

"Was that one of the guys?" Casey asked. He was holding the ice pack against his forehead, waiting for April to put the T-Phone back down.

April thought about lying, but knew it wouldn't be much use.

"Donnie. He just wanted to ask about something," she said, plopping down on the chair in front of Casey.

She didn't take pride in this whole thing. Lying to Donnie had not been part of the day's plan and she'd been close to just telling him the truth. But she didn't. She couldn't.

Just the thought of Donnie knowing that Casey was over at her place made her stomach churn. The two of them alone, on an 'actual date'… even when the date was as good as over considering their plans had been thwarted, all thanks to Casey and his hero complex.

"So I'm guessing you haven't told him?" Casey said, reading her expression, and she bristled. She didn't appreciate the reminders when she was already doing her best not to think about Donnie on her date with Casey. And she was still angry about what happened at the park, so… She was basically working really hard to keep her bad temper at bay.

"Are you seriously starting that again? I'm going to tell him! Soon! Meanwhile, you shh! Gimme your arm," she commanded, making sure to douse the ball of cotton with a generous amount of alcohol.

"Okay, fine… But you know, it's gonna hurt more the longer you w-AAAAAH FUCK!" Casey screamed when April deliberately rubbed the saturated cotton along the gash on his forearm and he pulled it away in a reflex, holding it to his chest like a wounded animal.

"Sorry," she said in a sweet voice, and was quick to change the subject. "You know what would have helped you? Aside from being a little smarter than to go picking fights with a gang of hormonal kids, of course…"

"What," Casey grunted suspiciously, still feeling the stinging aftershocks of the alcohol.

"Ninja training," she said tartly. "You should let Master Splinter teach you a thing or two about unarmed combat, just so you could hold your own if this ever happens again. It saved my life, you know? More than once."

"Ain't no savvy like street savvy, Red, and Casey Jones's very street wise. Those guys were just playing dirty. Next time, I'll be ready."

April rolled her eyes. She had tried to talk him into training with Master Splinter several times, but as he put it, he had no interest in "circus acrobatics". And she was in no mood to argue with his thick skull.

"Well, looks like the night's taken an interesting turn of events." Casey stretched and his breath caught in his throat at the audible crack.

"If you wanna call it that. I'd rather be in a movie theater right now instead of cleaning dirt out of your cuts," she retorted and started picking up all the blood-stained wipes, throwing them in the bin.

"No matter, Red. We can have fun here too."

April released a sharp exhale, regarding his cheeky expression with a sarcastic half smile.

"You don't seem all that ready for anything fun," she said, and deliberately poked his side where she knew he had the nastiest bruise. He jumped with a squeak. "But I guess we can always catch up on some of that homework."

Casey's face blanched.

"Are you serious?" he squealed and she laughed evilly, grouchiness finally starting to let up.

"Nah, you've been pummelled enough. But pull another stupid stunt like at the park and we're doing calculus on our next date."

"Wouldn't you love that cuz you just looove talking about school and playing good student, dontcha," he accused.

"You callin' me a nerd?" she said in mock indignation.

"You said it, not me."

She smacked him in the arm.

"I don't love school, I'm just trying to be  _responsible_. You know what that word means, Casey Jones?"

Casey made a noise like a horse's sneeze as sole response and April slowly shook her head, cross-armed.

"Hey, don't you have a laptop?" Casey said quickly before she mentioned homework again. "We could find the movies online! It'll be like the theater, only cosier. And we can pause for pee breaks."

"Yeah, right. You're just trying to get out of studying," she joked, but got up to retrieve the laptop from her room. "I doubt we'll find anything better than a cam for the new movie, though. We'd need Donnie for that."

And there it was again: Donnie's name, popping up everywhere like daisies. She inwardly kicked herself in the shin for bringing it up after what she herself had said on the matter, and prayed Casey hadn't heard that last part.

* * *

_**Duzmachines:** _ _Donatello? You still there?_

Donatello  _was_ there. To a degree, at least…

He felt lightheaded, thunderstruck, and for a moment there he could've sworn he'd practically blacked out. It couldn't be, but there it was, as real as Earth's rotation. He was -for lack of a better expression- talking to himself.

When more words appeared on the screen accompanied by the usual ping, he shook his head and tried to concentrate on what to say next.  _What_ do  _I say to my future self? What do I ask? Should I even ask or would that indeed cause some sort of temporal paradox?_

_**Duzmachines:** _ _Is that a stunned silence? Do I have your attention?_

_Did you_ faint _?_

With a final blink of his eyes, Donnie was finally able to will his fingers to move over the keyboard.

 _ **Allofdisnbrainz:**_   _No…_

_I think..._

_This is still kind of hard to believe though._

_Either you're telling the truth and are really me from the future or there's a new mutant in New York who has both psychic powers and a vast knowledge in computer science._

_**Duzmachines:** _ _Both possible, after all you meet more than of half the qualifications._

_Which do you think is more probable here?_

_**Allofdisnbrainz:**_   _I'm still trying to figure that one out…_

_**Duzmachines:** _ _Trust me, we're just as freaked out on this end!_

_Would you like me to explain the science?_

_**Allofdisnbrainz:**_   _The science is always welcome._

_**Duzmachines:** _ _Worm hole. One of the tiny ones. I've spent a good five months researching, going through almanacs and old news reports, magazines on the paranormal, what have you. I was looking for weird lights in the sky, strange localized weather phenomena, planes going missing, that kind of thing- to find a wormhole that would come close to both your location and ours, at the right time._

_**Allofdisnbrainz:**_   _The signal's not coming from New York. I haven't had time to track the source, but I can tell that much._

_**Duzmachines:** _ _No, it's not in New York. Yet. The wormhole is in Earth's trajectory so you will be able to pick it up in a couple of days, maybe. I'm using satellites to amplify and bounce the signal. The wormhole is in constant movement in relation to the planet, so I have to recallibrate in real time. I wrote a program specifically for that purpose. It's using data from servers all over the world._

_You could roast a chicken over the CPU._

_**Allofdisnbrainz:**_   _You're saying it'll be in New York. Are you planning on, you know, coming here?_

_**Duzmachines:** _ _That is exactly what we're planning._

A high pitched clamor of excitement forced its way out of Donatello's throat. It wasn't enough that he was talking to his future self; he was eventually going to meet himself in person. This was getting better by the moment and his seat was becoming unbearably small, incapable of containing his restless rump.

 _ **Allofdisnbrainz:**_   _How far in the future are we talking exactly?_

_**Duzmachines:** _ _Exactly? Ten years, two months, thirteen days, four hours and forty-five seconds._

_**Allofdisnbrainz:**_   _Ten years?_

_**Duzmachines:** _ _I know, right!_

_**Allofdisnbrainz:**_   _You're me ten years in the future?_

_**Duzmachines:** _ _Sure am! I've been planning this for months so you know I'm ecstatic._

_**Allofdisnbrainz:**_   _Is… everybody there?_

_**Duzmachines:** _ _There's a few of us here right now. But I'm not spilling any details, so don't even bother asking. Spoilers aren't good foDOMNEI OMG ITS U THIS I AMLZIGN!1!_

_**Allofdisnbrainz:**_   _Mikey?_

_**Duzmachines:** _ _Yes, Mikey. Sorry about that. He finally managed to reach the keyboard despite our best efforts._

Donatello laughed out loud, a cackle laced with incredulity and a somewhat manic elation, resounding on the lab's tall, bare walls.

 _ **Allofdisnbrainz:**_   _Holy Toledo, I can't believe this! Look what you've accomplished! You completely kicked the space-time continuum in the nuts!_

_**Duzmachines:** _ _And we're about to do much more! You and I are going to literally rip space-time a new one._

_**Allofdisnbrainz:**_   _What's the occasion?_

_**Duzmachines:** _ _Sorry, past Donatello, that part will have to wait until next time. It's a long story and I can only maintain the connection for so long today. The portal is about to go out of range. It'll be easier to communicate the closer the wormhole is to Earth._

_**Allofdisnbrainz:**_   _Wait!_

_When do we get to talk again? How are you going to make this work?_

_Hello?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ho ho ho ho. So... Do you believe this Future Donatello? How do you like them usernames? Think Casey and April have a chance?


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Donnie just talked to his future self. He has to tell someone!  
> Meanwhile Casey goes smooth on April. Will it work?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Stuff is finally happening you guys! And much more to come!
> 
> Also Apriltello is beginning to slowly unfold at last. Leorai too, of course (and Rasey coff-coff) but April really has been a bit enigmatic these past few chapters, right? Thank you for your patience! XD
> 
> As always, a huge thank you to Queequegg for her beta reading on this chapter!

 

Even after verifying that the signal had been lost, Donnie remained fixed to his desk, gaping at the words on the screen until he saw spots. The half pop-tart had been long forsaken on the cold surface of the table.

Did that really happen? Did he really just maintain a dialogue with his future self? This… this was most assuredly the best thing ever.

He felt the urgent need to tell someone about this. But who? Obviously if they'd just been contacted by their future selves this had to be a matter of utmost importance and it was imperative that the others knew. But would anyone even believe this without some real proof? He wasn't sure even he believed it himself, still. The safest course of action would probably be to keep quiet about it until he could find out more. But how could he possibly keep quiet about  _this_?

There was no way. He'd just made contact  _with the future!_ Their future selves had just confirmed that they'd be coming over and who knows with what purpose!

He had to tell someone!

He thought about calling April first. She always listened to him. But then he remembered she had been busy with her dad. Better leave them alone then.

Raph would likely laugh in his face, so he would be the last to know, the meathead. Same went for Casey; those two were twins in all but species.

Mikey… forget Mikey. Once he managed to make his excitable little brother understand what was going on, he'd want to be all up in it for sure. And any laboratory equipped with a hyperactive Mikey was a danger zone as he'd proven on more than one occasion. The longer he could postpone the giggling -and the hopping around, and the breaking of things- the better.

He wouldn't even know what to tell Master Splinter. It was too soon. He never went to Master Splinter without anything less than a detailed project proposal, and then only when they needed his assistance, or his approval. Not that he never approved -so far he'd been pretty open to just about any crazy invention Donnie had hatched as long as it didn't affect him. But if he happened to declare it safer to ignore and block these messages, even to the point where he'd confiscate his electronic devices... Then he would never be able to talk to future Donatello again.

And that was the reason Leonardo was the best choice. He often was; he and Donatello had always understood each other best of all the brothers, and he was also the perfect intermediary for dealing with Splinter.

That settled it: he would tell cautious, collected, reasonable Leonardo first and see what he thought about it. A second opinion would be great right about now.

Oh man, this was so exciting he could barely contain himself!

He made a quick copy of the text, lest it suddenly disappeared along with all evidence of the conversation, and with one last glance at the screen, Donatello pranced out the lab doors towards Leo's room. Not even wondering why his door would be closed so early, he swung it open and entered like a typhoon.

"Leo! You won't bel…"

Donatello's words caught in his mouth at the sight of his brother in the lotus position, his eyes closed, his vacant expression a picture of peace under the dim light of a dozen candles.

Oh, right. Meditation hour.

Leonardo hadn't moved a single micrometer as the candles flickered and the orange light shimmied at the gust of air Donatello's entrance had provoked.  _What time is it?_  he wondered, impatient, quietly closing the door behind him and sitting cross-legged on the carpet facing his brother. Gathering all his composure, he waited for him to come back down to Earth.

Five minutes in, he was already tapping his foot and sighing every other second, too eager to tell him all about this new wondrous development.

Finally Leonardo exhaled deeply and slowly opened his eyes. Donatello was on him in a heartbeat.

"Leo!" he shrieked.

"What, Donnie," Leonardo said levelly before his brother pounced and started shaking his shoulders.

"Something happened!"

"What? What?" Leo demanded, shrugging out of the other turtle's grip.

"Something amazing! Something of  _cosmic_ proportions! Improbable in all logical and scientific terms, it's- it's more science  _fiction_ than science, almost, and even  _I_  would laugh at me, but I am ninety-nine percent convinced-!"

"Cut to the chase, Donnie, I just came out of meditation and you're already wearing out the effects."

Donnie paused but for a split second, enough to take in just the air necessary to keep talking.

"I have made contact with- get this- future me!  _Me from the future_!"

"Wh- Huh?"

"Future Donatello hacked into our internal network and started talking to me! Come look at this!"

Donatello pulled a quizzical Leonardo to his feet and started hauling him down the hall to the lab. Mikey barely diverted his eyes from the screen to see them go past, too engaged in his game.

A small part of Donatello feared it had all been his imagination and that the chat wouldn't be there. But when they entered, there it was on the screen, and he signalled Leo towards it.

"See? This is what I meant!"

Leonardo approached the computer, not before giving Donnie a wary once-over.

"Read it, read it! Here!" Donatello sat his brother on the office chair with a defying smile on his face. Leo indulged him, even when what seemed most probable was that Donnie had finally suffered a breakdown from caffeine overdose, if the swarm of empty mugs on the desk was any indication.

Still Leonardo read, and all the while Donnie's head hanged above his shoulder bouncing up and down like a pirate's cockatoo.

"The Ship of the Imagination?"

"Keep reading," Donnie ordered in a dangerous voice before his brother could make any jokes.

And Leo kept reading, and the more Leo read the more unlikely it all seemed. Line by line, his smile of derision grew.

"You guys really thought I could fall for this? You gotta step up your game, Donnie, this is lame."

"It's not a joke!" Donnie protested and he seemed deeply annoyed by Leo's condescendence.

"Wait… You're serious?"

Donnie nodded vigorously, and Leo only chuckled.

"So…" he glanced back at the conversation and finished reading the last few entries. "So you really believe this?"

"Oh, I didn't at first!"

"Uh, Don, how can I say this? If you're not in on it, then you're the victim. This could be any of the guys claiming to be… uh, future you."

"Leo, I told you. This guy hacked into my system. Do you know who can do that besides me?"

Donnie paused for Leo's response, but his brother only gave him an unimpressed glare.

"That's right. No one."

"If someone hacked into your computer," Leo said, completely ignoring Donnie's last statement, "it could be noteworthy, but for very different reasons. There could be someone out there trying to lay a trap for us. We should be careful. I'm telling Master Splinter."

"Leo, you're not listening to me," Donnie griped wearily, pulling Leo's arm back down to keep him from running off. "If you tell Master Splinter that there's someone out there trying to hack into our network, he'll want to confiscate all my stuff! We've got to see where this goes."

"How can you be so sure of this?"

"Really? Brain aliens from another dimension, sure, but this is too much? This guy said things only I could know. I'm telling you, Leo, this is me from the future!"

"You realize magicians do that all the time and it turns out it's just a trick every time, right?"

A loud groan escaped Donnie in his exasperation.

"Okay, Leo, first of all, that would make him a mentalist, not a magician. And second of all…" Donatello lowered his voice to barely a whisper. "This could be the most incredible thing I've ever done, or I…will ever do in the future... I don't think you're appreciating the- the  _magnitude_ of this! I haven't had the chance to locate the source of the signal, but if what future Donatello says is true, then that signal has breached the barriers of space-time, travelling between worlds just so that two people from two separate  _universes_ could have a conversation! Think about it! We're going to talk to ourselves, some years into the future! Whatever they have to say to us, Leo… it's gotta be big."

Donnie held Leo in his gaze -his eager, slightly deranged gaze- as he panted for air. He had finally caused an impression on Leo and that obviously filled him with an exhilarating sense of satisfaction and hope. Leo looked at Donnie, then at the screen, then back at Donnie. His intelligent brother was frantic like spinner fireworks. If what he said was true, then… he had a right to be.

"S-so you really think it's possible?"

"Oh, it's possible! Highly improbable, but most certainly possible!"

"How can be you sure that this is not some kind of evil scheme?"

"I'm pretty sure! And how many times have I been wrong?"

The only proper way to respond to that, Leonardo knew, was with a stone-faced silence.

Donnie slumped only slightly.

"Okay, so I'm not  _entirely_ infallible, but we gotta at least see where this goes, right?"

His brother in blue sighed through his nose in contemplation.

"It just… sounds so much like something out of Space Heroes, Donnie."

"You think I don't know that? Space Heroes almost seems likelier than this, to be honest."

"I mean how is it even possible?"

"Well, we didn't have that much time to talk. What you read is what he told me. As far as I could gather, he must have been using a very faint broadcast of radio wavelengths to penetrate the wormhole, and…" And this was the moment when the genius showered Leo with the usual onslaught of technical terms and other generally big words that were making Leo dizzy. He was talking about satellites, and servers, and proxies and... hell if he knew.

"Okay, I get the essentials," Leo said, putting an end to the verbal bombardment. "So what does future Donatello  _want_? Is he planning to give you next year's sports almanac?"

Donatello regarded him with a look of deep vexation on his face, and Leo shook his hands in an apology, promising to take it seriously from now on.

"Alright, alright… Kidding."

He signalled his brother to continue.

"Like I said, we didn't have that much time to talk, but apparently-"

"Wait, I remember reading they were coming here? To this... time?" Leo leaned in to scroll through the chat, suddenly remembering something from the chat that he hadn't taken seriously up to now.

"That's what he said! I don't know how they plan to do  _that_ , but Donatello's definitely got a plan, and I can't wait to hear it" Donnie said, and there was a very obvious shimmer of pride in his eyes.

"Who would be coming, exactly?"

"He didn't say!" Donnie repeated, irritably motioning towards the open chat. "I thought you'd read it!"

"Well when are they planning on telling us all this?" Leonardo groused, already infected with Donatello's excitement. The thought of seeing the older version of himself filled him with an uncomfortable cocktail of anticipation and foreboding. So many things can happen in ten years. What was the world like ten years from now? What did future them look like? And Splinter? And Karai? He tried to suppress a blush at the possibility that he and Karai might have gotten together. It wasn't all that crazy, right?

Secretly, Donnie's thoughts were parallel to Leo's. Future Donatello hadn't even mentioned anyone besides Mikey, who had pretty much mentioned himself in a slip-up anyway. Only now did he pick up on the amount of secrecy that future Donatello had wrapped around the whole thing.

"They said they'd contact me again, I just don't know when. I guess I'll have to keep an eye out, he can only maintain the connection for a few minutes, apparently," Donatello explained.

"You do that. And then you call me. I want to be present next time you talk to them."

"I was going to offer just that," Donnie said with the confidant's smirk. "What about the others? Should we tell them?"

"We could wait until we know something for certain."

"And Splinter?"

"We'll tell him… eventually."

"I love it when we coincide," Donnie said with an fiendish grin. He held out his hand and Leo smacked his palm into his in a power handshake.

"Gear up. Patrol in 10," Leonardo said then, turning around to leave at his brother's nod of confirmation.

* * *

Saying that the quality was crap would have been an understatement. The first movie had a decent enough definition seeing as though it had been on DVD for a while, but the sequel...

The pixels on screen were the size of lego pieces and the audio wasn't always synchronized. Not to mention all the furtive coughs and sneezes from the audience, and the occasional silhouette getting up from its seat and blocking the view. The video offered just enough information for them to loosely follow the plot and April would've gladly just stopped watching, but she had the distinct feeling that Casey was actually more excited about the idea of them both sitting together on the couch in a dimly-lit room.

"Chapati. Stupid name for a guy. Catmint's hot, though," he commented as the aforementioned character and the protagonist shared a tender scene.

Moreover he went on to explain his opinion on why the guy had no real chance with Catmint, from the way she behaved. It was obvious she would ultimately settle for Hale. Or she should, at least.

April made a little agreeing sound, even when she wasn't sure she agreed… Granted Chapati wasn't the most handsome or the most obvious match, but he was intelligent, easy to talk to, and he and the protagonist had been through so much together. It kinda felt to her like the movie was slowly turning the scales, or maybe that's what she was being mislead to believe. If she was being honest with herself, she wasn't completely sure who she would choose if she were in this Catmint girl's shoes, and the situation was all too familiar.  _Hang in there, girl._

Her train of thought was interrupted by a slight pressure on her knee.

She needn't look away from the screen to know it was Casey's hand being… adventurous. The expectancy must have been killing him all afternoon, she thought. Knowing him, she was surprised he'd waited so long to try something.

"Listen, Red."

She turned her head and met his eyes, his hand still rubbing tentative circles on her leg.

"I'm sorry we had to miss that movie because of me. I didn't mean to ruin our first  _official_ date."

Well, not that she was gonna let that pass, but at least he was finally admitting some responsibility.

"That's alright," she conceded, hesitating to acknowledge the touch of his hand.

The movie went silent all of a sudden and they both turned towards the laptop, thinking maybe the battery had died. But it had nothing to do with the device because the video was still going, only no sound was playing. This is what they got for trying to watch a movie online when it was still in theaters.

The silence was thick like tar between them and suddenly they were both very aware of each other's presence sitting shoulder to shoulder on the couch, alone. And April was all too aware of Casey's hand slowly crawling its way up her thigh.

Casey glanced at her from the corner of his eyes, unable to read her expression, wondering what she'd think if he…

He went for it.

"You look really pretty tonight."

April's eyebrows quirked upwards a tad at Casey's crude attempt at setting a romantic mood, and she smiled in bemusement.

"Thanks, Casey." She was about to make a joke on how she couldn't say the same thing about him given that he looked like he'd been hit by a bus -eye bruised, smelling of antiseptic and three band-aids on his face alone- but managed to bite her tongue in time. That might've broken the mood a bit.

Casey ventured forth, shifting towards her.

"I really like you, April."

She felt heat rising to her cheeks and looked away with a tiny smile. Back when they'd met, she had had her braces removed relatively recently and had replaced the dorky glasses for contacts, so she was not used to that kind of attention. The idea that one of the cool kids from school had actually noticed her was an exciting development, even when he'd been less than delicate about it. Funny how it still managed to maker her blush.

And now she was starting to feel a little panicky. He was very close and she could feel his warm breath on her face, a spicy touch of the mustard from those hotdogs they had for dinner.

It was happening.

Casey leaned in and waited for her to turn her face to him. Their eyelids slowly fell shut as he leaned in the rest of the way, planting one tentative peck on her receptive lips. His face hovered over hers then for a couple seconds, the tips of their noses touching. Ice broken, consent given, more kisses followed the first, soft and cautious, but slowly gaining in confidence.

 _Okay. This is… interesting,_ she mused at the warm, slick feel of Casey's mouth on hers.

"I really like your hair," he muttered randomly between kisses. "And your freckles."

April snickered.

"Really."

"Oh yeah. And those green eyes drive me crazy."

She froze.

"Uh, I have blue eyes, Casey," she giggled.

She allowed him to lean her away, holding her at arm's length in order to look at her face not without a bit of alarm.

"What the heck. I knew this, how did I get that wrong?"

"You must have hit your head harder than we thought."

For a moment there he had been truly convinced. April with pretty green eyes, obviously. A momentary lapse. It was probably for the best that she hadn't seen his drawings of Raphael that on more than one occasion had centered around his eyes. Nothing special about those drawings, the dude's eyes were just unrealistically green, and it was kind of fascinating. But he knew others would probably see it differently, so no way he'd be showing that around. Luckily she didn't seem to read too much into the situation and did not ask questions.

He cleared his throat.

"Anyway, where were we?" he said, his voice husky and back to business, and this time he was hungry.

He pressed his lips to hers, one hand coming up to rest at her cheek, guiding her, and she shifted on her seat to face him, allowing him better access. His mouth battled against hers as the hand that had been rubbing soft circles on her leg ventured backwards. A little too far back, actually. Her hands, until then idly resting on the couch, sprung upwards to grip Casey's arms in a reflex, snatching them away from her glutes, the kiss broken.

"Whoa, don't get ahead of yourself there, Case."

"Sorry, it slipped," Casey said through his gap-toothed grin before shoving himself forward, drowning her exasperated groan in his mouth, and a small part of her was glad their mouths were closed. To be honest, she was a little insecure about being able to feel the gap of his missing teeth with her tongue.

What had started off cautious and slow had become greedy, yearning. Both his hands came up to cup her cheeks, holding her face like... a sub sandwich.  _Yes_ , thought April, fighting the urge to laugh.  _He's eating my face like a sub sandwich._

A little disoriented, April tried to follow his rhythm. He'd clearly done this before. She, on the other hand, couldn't help worrying that she wasn't doing this right. Was it weird that she couldn't stop noticing his nose awkwardly rubbing against her face?

She forced herself to focus on the right sensations as she conjured up the things she'd seen being done in movies. She slid her hands up along the side of his sleeves to rest them on his shoulders and he responded in kind, bringing her closer.

Yep. There she was, sharing her first kiss with Casey.

And somehow all she could think about suddenly was how this wasn't  _technically_ her first kiss.

Just like that, she was spirited away back to the farmhouse. The sky was a bright blue and spring was in full force, assaulting her nose with a thousand different types of pollen. The weather was warm, the landscape a radiant green, and there was dirt from the firewood on her hands.

And she was kissing Donnie.

It had lasted but a couple of heartbeats, but during that span she'd felt a jolt. Electricity. It might as well have been a ripple in the fabric of the universe, enveloping them both in their own little cocoon where time made no sense and a single millisecond could stretch into a lifetime. Her mind had raced with a thousand sudden realizations that had made her head spin. It was all over so fast, and yet so much had happened that she had been unable to wrap her head around it all. To this day, she still didn't quite know what to do with it.

Something shifted, and she came stumbling back to reality.

What happened was that Casey's lips had suddenly left hers and he was leaning back, giving her a questioning look.

"Uh, was that okay?"

Her reply leaped forth like a spring.

"Yeah!"

Casey's face didn't show much conviction, so she thought she'd help it along, taking the initiative and leaning forward to practically slam her lips against his so they could continue. Anything to keep him from asking. Anything to keep her own mind distracted from the sudden bombardment of pictures and sounds and smells that were so very far away from this couch.

 _Excellent timing, April_ , she thought. She could not have picked a worse moment to suddenly ask herself what it would be like to do this with Donnie, to be sitting next to each other, his oversized, three-fingered hand on her cheek, so strange yet so familiar; she wondered what her fingertips would feel like over the distinct texture of his skin, tracing along the fibrous muscles on his neck and shoulders, their foreheads touching, exploring each other's…

_Goddamn it._

She was doing it again. Casey paused, unable to ignore her blatant lack of participation any longer.

"What?" he asked, and he hadn't meant to make it sound so much like a complaint rather than an actual question.

"What?" she echoed, like a deer caught in the headlights.

"Seriously, are you okay? I've had more passionate kisses with my grandma."

April looked at her own hands and realized they had not moved from Casey's shoulders since she had consciously put them there. They were pretty much just glued to his shirt, stiff as shoulderguards, and her pose wasn't all too avid either, merely indulging Casey's ministrations with aloof consent.

She gave a slow exhale, shifting away from Casey and the embrace of his arms.

"I... I guess I'm not up for it tonight," she muttered apologetically, glancing sideways at Casey's face of dejection. His hands fell to his sides as he struggled to form words.

"Is this about Donnie?" he managed to ask, unable to hide his tone of resentment.

"No!"  _Yes_ , thought April. "Why does everything have to be about Donnie?!"  _No, really, tell me. I'd love an answer._

"Okay, sorry..." he apologized, beaten, throwing his hands in the air as he too sat back on the couch, hitting the backrest with a defeated poof. Her shoulders curved forward in shame.

"No, I'm sorry, Casey. It's just that… I'm dealing with a lot of things right now, and… I'm just a little tired."

The kid appraised her carefully, gauging her words. She always had too much on her mind, she was always dealing with too many things. There was always something bigger than all of them. It seemed to be her go-to response for everything. But he just couldn't reproach her when she looked even more beaten up than he was, somehow. Even when the evening might not have ended the way he wanted, he couldn't bring himself to be angry.

"Look, don't worry about it, April," he said reassuringly. "We got time for all that. I promise next date I won't voluntarily engage in any street brawls until after the movie."

"Hmm," she mused, somewhat appeased by his words, but still feeling the stabs of guilt for having ruined what was supposed to have been a magical moment. At least she could console herself with the thought of having been granted a reprieve.  _Another chance at procrastination_ , a little voice said in her head, and she battled with the urge to hide her face in her hands.

A sudden gust of epic music startled her, and they turned towards the laptop.

"Oh look," Casey said cheerfully. "The sound's back. We can finish watching."

If the movie had been hard to follow before, she doubted either of them could focus on it at all now, but still April rewarded his patience with a grateful smile.

He slid one arm across her shoulders, watching for any sign of disapproval. But she let her head rest on him, and he moved to accommodate himself against her as well. They were just friends tonight, apparently.

She realized immediately this was a sad alternative to what he probably had in mind when she had offered him a date, and the blunt, persistent knives of guilt were back with a vengeance.

Apparently she'd been foolish to think that once here, things would flow naturally. Casey and her having fun was nothing at all new. They had gone out plenty of times and they got along just fine. Most of the times...

And not counting Casey playing tough guy -and getting his ass kicked, and them missing the show-, today had run relatively easy.

Right up until the moment of truth.

What had gone wrong? She liked Casey, right? She'd go so far as to say she'd had a little crush on him. He had made her giggle and bat her eyelashes on more than one occasion; she  _had_ to like him. At times, however, she had asked herself why, and when she did she could never come up with a clear answer. It wasn't like they had all that much in common, really. And yes, he could benefit from a good dental plan… As well as a dip in a barrel of detergent, clothes and all.

But he was also the cool kid, charming in his own way. The high school version of an outlaw. His casual disregard for the rules made him every sixteen-year-old girl's rebel fantasy. And back then she couldn't help being that sixteen-year-old girl…

Of course, since then she had had plenty of time to get to really know Casey, and with time that initial excitement had faded somewhat. Getting to know Casey meant also learning a few things in the process; the good… and the insufferable.

What happened at the park was only the tip of the iceberg. April had lost count of all the times she had felt the need to evacuate the premises and take a breather after trying to reason with his thick skull. But that didn't mean they weren't close. And Casey had never stopped asking. Every other night he would drop the same old question. After all this time, it had become a habit for the two of them. An inside joke; their way of saying goodnight. "How about a date?" "Nope." "'Kay, see ya!"

So much so that at one point it became hard to tell whether it even meant anything at all to either of them. The word 'date' seemed to have lost all meaning. And then not even a week ago, the very same word was suddenly squirming around in her tummy like koi trapped in a washbowl.

Because when Casey had asked for the umpteenth time, she had thought to herself "what the heck, I could give him a chance, maybe it's just what we all need right now". And that's when the consequent faceplant against reality had rendered her absolutely catatonic. Even after deciding to go for it next time he asked, it had still taken her six whole days to act on this decision. Even though Casey kept asking.

Finally, last night at Murakami's, she had gathered all her courage to give Casey a chance. And then after Casey's routine question, she had said yes.

Call it a field test. Trial by fire.

But how was she supposed to tell Casey the real reason she didn't want to tell anybody was because she wasn't all that confident that this would work out, that she was pretty much just testing the waters? As much as she hoped, she didn't know if this date business was going to go horribly, and if that were the case, then letting everybody know -letting Donnie know- would be the cause for much unnecessary pain. It was better if this stayed between Casey and her in case it went sideways, and then maybe afterwards she could come clean. When she was sure.

But not now, not when there were so many things she just didn't know.

It didn't help that she'd only recently started feeling… stuff. For Donnie. Not even the usual where she secretly might want to kiss him. This was new stuff that confused her just a bit, especially because she had already discarded the possibility of even trying something with him.

She looked back, not two weeks ago, just when these things were starting to click together nicely in her head and she was finally starting to figure everything out. Finally she was getting to where she wanted to be, and dad had been feeling much better.

That was before that one fight which, to her consternation, had ended in her father's worst anxiety attack in months. Usually April avoided any kind of argument with her father. He was, after all, still recovering from not just one traumatic experience, but a myriad of them. She just hadn't expected him to bring the turtles into it. And Donnie. And she hadn't hesitated to come to their defense.

 _It was just a fight. All he said was that he was worried about me. Besides, people say stupid things when they're upset,_ she kept telling herself. But hard as she tried, his words still resonated in her mind.

April stole a sideways glance at Casey's profile, the cold light of the laptop outlining his crooked hockey nose, and tried to concentrate on being here with him, the warmth of his arm around her shoulders. She sighed, softly so he wouldn't notice, and gathered her thoughts.

_Let's not be hasty. Like Casey said, you'll get more chances to start something. You guys like each other, you have fun together._

_It's all going to work out. You'll see. One way or the other._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> April's and Casey's kiss inspired by true events XD First kisses are awkward...  
> So what did you think?? Remember, reviews are writer chow!  
> Thank you all who comment, you guys make it worth it^^


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Karai has a surprise. April's having a bad week.  
> ...Morning training gets interesting.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally some first hand Apriltello and Leorai - if you squint!
> 
> Thank you so much to our beta readers Queequegg and TheHeroComplex. You guys are the best and we don't know what we'd do without you.
> 
> As always, co-written by me and Violette-Aner. Look her up on Deviantart.

 

That morning Donatello was near impossible to tear from his computer, and only Leonardo knew the real reason.

It's not like it was a rare thing, when his intelligent brother found a new project to get excited over. Often a task just wouldn't get done before bedtime, and then he would pull out the cot, set it up in a corner of the lab and  _pretend_ to sleep there. This time it had been his fear of missing future Donatello's next message that had kept him in his lab all night. When Leonardo entered the lab, he had found the nest of blankets over the cot and his brother buried deep within. Knowing Donnie, he had probably spent more time waiting for his T-Phone or his computer to beep at any moment than trying to get any real sleep.

Leonardo had gone in with an offer of breakfast, but he still wouldn't budge from his seat, so what he did was bring breakfast to him. At least that way he could make sure he ate something, even when the look he got from Donatello when he saw the piece of toast—topped with muesli and sesame seeds—was nowhere near gratitude.

"Seriously, Donnie, you don't get enough sleep," Leonardo said, ignoring the consequent eye-roll.

"I'm perfectly fine," Donnie replied, voice still thick and a shadow under his eyes peeking from beneath the purple fabric, none of which were good alibis for his words.

Leonardo pointedly nudged the plate closer to the keyboard and then stepped out to let him eat his breakfast in peace before anyone accused him of nagging. But one thing he was not about to do was let Donnie skip the workout. It was time for their morning training; everybody was already gathering in the dojo, and Donnie was going to train like all the others, whether he got six hours of sleep or half. After the exercise, he would make Donnie drink a nice cup of lemon balm tea and hopefully get him to lie down for a few hours.

When April showed up at the turnstiles and Donnie was still not out of his lab, Leonardo decided to pull out the big guns. If there was anyone that could convince Donnie to move, it was April. However another closer look at her stopped the request from even leaving his mouth. She looked a little worse for wear, heavy-lidded and heavy-footed.

"How's everything?" he asked as he walked with her to the dojo steps, and he could tell she was forcing her eyes open in an attempt to look awake, and not like she was about to pass out.

"Good!" she lied, but was obviously not up for chatting, so Leonardo thought it better not to insist.

"Well, you go ahead, April. I'm going to go get Dr. Nefario out of his cave. Last night was one those nights."

"Good luck." She smirked like she knew exactly what he meant, climbing up the remaining steps. Her movements a tad slow, she tripped and barely caught herself from crashing into one of the columns nose-first before acting like nothing just happened.

"Hm," Leonardo said, brow furrowed before turning around to make his way towards the lab, to haul Donnie to the dojo himself if he had to. That's when he spotted Karai, scurrying inside the lab. And barely a moment later she was out again, carrying something in a bundle and Donnie following closely behind.

They hadn't noticed him, and Leonardo watched behind the arches as they both shared an earnest thumbs up before Karai trailed off to the bathroom, leaving Donnie to climb the steps by himself.

 _Well, aren't they getting along just wonderfully, those two?_ a little voice mumbled inside Leo's head as he quickly stepped out of his sight. He huffed and mentally slapped the thought away, not wanting to make it a big deal, before sitting down on the carpets in front of Master Splinter with April and his brothers.

Donnie joined them only a few seconds after and everybody turned their heads when they heard him enter.

"What's taking so long?" Raph griped, and the same question could be seen on Splinter's stern expression.

"I was, uh, helping Karai out with something. She says to wait for her," Donatello said apologetically as he went to sit on his heels between April and Raph, a twinkle of a smile in his sleepy eyes.

Leonardo felt the unexpected sting of suspicion again, but did his best to ignore it.

They'd been sitting for a few minutes and Splinter was calmly pacing around the dojo while the rest waited with different degrees of impatience when Raphael thought to express his boredom with a loud groan.

"Why are we all just sitting here like mushrooms again?" he groused in his usual 'I-don't-give-a-damn-about-anything-but-kicking-ass' tone.

"Mmmm, mushrooms."

"For the third time, Raph," Donnie drawled, "Karai wants to show us something."

Raphael groaned again.

"That spells trouble. A few months ago, if she said anything like that we'd be running in the opposite direction, fast."

"Don't say those things, Raph!" Leo spat under his breath, casting a sideways glance at Splinter. "Especially not in front of her!"

Raph rolled his eyes. He had never believed in being overprotective towards Karai, and he enforced these beliefs everyday at all times, just to be safe.

"Are you sure she said she wanted to show  _all_ of us? It sounds like something she'd want just Leo for," Raph jested.

Leonardo heard what seemed to be a discreet grunt of distaste coming from Splinter's corner of the room where he stood, but it didn't stop Raphael's smile of derision.

It was all Leo could do to hide his embarrassment in his disciplined posture, sitting stiff as a plank and hoping it wouldn't show on his cheeks. He didn't even bother with Raph. His block-head of a brother never really made any efforts with him when it came to Karai, or with Donnie and April for that matter. He always went out of his way to prove both his brothers were idiots who didn't know any better.

"She was very clear, Raph. She meant everyone," Donatello said, the strain in his voice a sign that his patience, like Leonardo's, was wearing thin.

Then from right outside the dojo came Karai's voice.

"Okay, guys! Ready or not, here I come!"

"Everybody hit the deck!" Raph yelled in mock-urgency.

"Funny, Raph! Maybe I can help you with that. With my boot," Karai's voice snarked before it was followed by Karai herself, and Leo suppressed the smack that he was going to give Raph at the sight of her.

Karai stood at the threshold. She was wearing new armor over her regular black clothes, made from brown leather and speckled by a multitude of metallic rivets arranged in decorative patterns. The dark specks gave off the faintest pinpoint glimmers in the hard sunlight filtering through the grates in the ceiling as she strolled her way to the middle of the dojo.

Suddenly AC/DC's "Back in Black" started blaring from the T-Phone held high in Donatello's hand. A mischievous smile was plastered on his face, and he got a couple of finger guns from Karai for his trouble as she started her catwalk in front of the line of ninjas.

"Whoa-ho-hoa!" Mikey hollered loudly over the music, hands up in a three-fingered interpretation of rock-on hands. "Looking good, Karaiwa!"

Everybody's interest was piqued, so much that no one even batted an eye to their sister's new name, courtesy of Mikey. They were all too preoccupied with the spectacle to even hear it. Leonardo, for instance, had suddenly lost his voice. He gulped, starting to feel rather sweaty underneath his elbow and knee pads as Karai showed off her impressive new look.

The armor was a revamp of her old Foot armor, redesigned in tough leather that went nicely with the rest of the group's aesthetics while still retaining that attitude that was so Karai. An iron ring buckle much like the one Splinter wore held her sash in place, making her look as if they were both in a kind of Hamato uniform. Elegant. Stylish. But very practical. And together with that new haircut… Well, it was turning Leo into a wax sculpture that had been left under the heat of the spotlight for too long.

"So that's what you two were up to in the lab!" Raphael cried suddenly, giving Donnie a jumbo pat on the shell and the purple-clad brother nearly choked on his own spit. "I was starting to worry!"

"Me too! About the whole world conquering and stuff!" Mikey added, getting a giggle out of the kunoichi in question.

Leonardo suppressed an agreeing nod. Yes, he had worried as well. A little bit. Not for the same reason as Mikey did exactly… but yeah.

"It was all Karai, though. I only provided the workspace," Donnie said, seemingly unaware of the way Leonardo was watching them.

He had never even considered the possibility before recently, and he was certain Donnie still was very much in love with April. But he couldn't help become uneasy after all those hours spent inside the lab, the two together, being quiet and secretive. He knew they'd been hiding something, but it had taken him a good amount of effort to convince himself that neither of them had that kind of interest in each other. Karai was an amazing woman, after all. Who  _wouldn't_ fall for her? Not only that, but she had been known to use her knowledge of that to achieve her objectives.

Without even realizing it, he had turned to look at April, and was surprised to find his own doubts etched in her expression as well, or at least… at least that's what it looked like for a brief moment there before Donnie turned to look at her and she looked away, pretending to watch Karai.

"So what do you think?" Karai asked, stopping to pose between Leo and Splinter, her eyes flicking from one to the other.

 _She's so beautiful,_  Leo thought.  _She's so beautiful I want to die. Say something, she's waiting!_

"It's so pretty!" he cawed, and immediately ducked his head, embarrassed by what had just come out of his mouth.

"Yeah, it's awesome!" Mikey agreed loudly, awe sparkling in his eyes, and Leo had to thank him mentally for providing a distraction so he could collect himself.

Karai felt herself swelling with pride, and something else that wasn't all that familiar to her. It felt more than satisfactory; it was… nice. Very nice. All those shouts of approval, the awe in their eyes, they were warming her right through.

And the look on Leo…

Karai allowed herself a low giggle, snatching a glance at the blue-clad brother before turning to Splinter, who in turn had been extremely quiet. Hands behind his back and studious glance under his thick white eyebrows, Karai couldn't quite read him. At last, she held her breath and tipped her head up to face him, a question in her eyes.

"You made this yourself?" Splinter asked, his eyes lingering on the chest piece and the barely perceptible engraving of the clan's symbol on the leather. And that glimmer in his gaze finally gave him away, his chest puffed out.

"Yes, father. I wanted to surprise you," she said with a low bow.

Splinter approached her, his tall form towering over her, and put both his hands on her shoulders making her stand upright so he could look in her eyes.

"You did! It is magnificent, my daughter. You did an excellent job," Splinter said, still admiring the result of her dedication. Beaming.

"Thank you, father," Karai replied, captivated by Splinter's approval. It felt strange, having a father who smiled at her, and hugged her and felt deeply proud of her simply because she was his daughter. Such a feeling, which had once been so foreign to her, was the most beautiful thing she had experienced in her life.

"I gotta tell ya, it's a whole different deal seeing it on," Donnie said, and Leo tore his eyes from Karai in time to catch his brother's smile, reaching from ear to ear as he glanced at Leo and the thunderstruck look that he hadn't realized was so obvious on his face.

"It's beautiful. Makes me want to get an armor of my own," April said.

Karai then shot Donatello what was clearly meant to be a covert wink, but Leonardo saw it. Donnie's smile widened, shoulders giving off the lightest of tremors, and Leo's brow furrowed a little deeper, wondering what it meant.

"Is it comfortable?" April asked in all interest, looking at the suit with eyes that were avid even when puffy from an obvious lack of sleep. Up until then she'd been practically sleepwalking, but Karai's surprise appeared to have coaxed her out of her lethargy.

"It needs a little breaking in, but otherwise it's lighter and more maneuverable than my old steel armor," Karai replied, performing a few moves to try it out.

"Certainly looks versatile," Donnie observed.

"We'll just have to see if it holds up outside the catwalk," Raphael said through a baleful grin, and Karai responded in kind, striking a combat pose.

"Well, how about we try it right now, brother?"

"Anytime, sister." Raphael cracked his neck, stalking towards her ready to pounce.

"Yame!"

Splinter's order resounded around the dojo, and everybody, including Karai and Raph, stopped in their tracks to stand on attention facing their teacher.

"Warm-up! In silence!"

Splinter was back in sensei mode, his tone terse and commanding. But he still had one smile left to spare for his daughter before she joined the group in their warm-up rounds.

* * *

Training went by according to routine. They stretched, they did their breathing exercises, practiced their katas; Raph bullied Mikey when he thought Splinter wasn't looking and Leo was the definition of self control as he'd actually managed not to stare at Karai and the way that armor snugly fit her form, though it did take a good amount of concentration.

April's bout of wakefulness, however, was short-lived. Once it had been necessary for her to display any form of agility or reflexes, all her resolve had come tumbling down and she soon regretted coming to the dojo that day.

She had barely made it through the lesson, running on fear of disappointment alone, when Splinter started dividing them into pairs for the final sparring exercise: unarmed hand-to-hand combat.

Leo was visibly relieved when Splinter paired him up with Mikey, because that way he didn't have to go up against Karai and her new suit. Raph, on the other hand, seemed absolutely thrilled to have been pit against her.

"Yes! I was hoping to be able to help you break into that suit, Karai! "

"Much appreciated, brother," she said sweetly. "But try not to hurt yourself in the process."

"Sister, I'm going to tenderize it like yesterday's leftover steak."

Mikey giggled.

"I just love when you guys smack talk," he said. "It's so cheesy."

Leo was already poised for combat staring Mikey down, but snickered at the exchange and the look of aggravation on Raph's face. Karai didn't seem at all bothered by the comment, coming from Mikey. She was probably glad it managed to warm Raph up for her.

"Face your opponent!" Splinter commanded, looking over each of his pupils. He would have to keep a close eye on Raph and Karai especially. If they had to fight, then they better do it with a sense of sportsmanship. However this kind of rivalry was prone to cause accidents. He already had a moral speech in mind for when he found himself ultimately forced to break them apart.

"Don't you dare go easy on me, Donnie. You always do that."

Splinter only barely turned his head to the pair at the far end of the room, but his keen rat ears picked up every word.

Donatello's brow twitched at the girl's comment.

"I do not! I merely adjust to your level," Donatello retorted, and immediately regretted those words. "That's- that's not… I didn't mean to be offensive, what I meant is… If we were characters in a game of Mazes and Mutants, if you will, you'd be a lower level than me and… and that made it worse," he chuckled hopelessly.

"Just  _please_ beat the crap out of me, Donnie," she grumbled and the turtle let out a little snicker in reaction.

"Well, I don't believe I've ever had anyone say those words to me, in that order."

But April was clearly not in the mood at the moment, judging by her unwavering glare. So Donatello thought it best to zip it for now and mirrored her ready stance, eyes narrowed in concentration. A flash of purple caught his attention for a moment, there among the ginger locks, tucked away underneath April's headband. He hadn't noticed that before. When did she get streaks? Pretty.

He quickly filed that away to comment on later when they had time to talk.

She saw it; the little approving quirk of his eyebrow ridges, and it tugged at the corner of her mouth despite herself —a welcome detour from her current thoughts— before they both locked eyes again, waiting for the signal.

"Hajime!"

The dojo was suddenly flooded with the sounds of battle, the padding and stomping of feet on carpet and the dull thuds of the impacts on flesh and bone. Splinter appraised the various matches under his critical eye, pacing his way around the dojo, hands behind his back, starting at the far end where April and Donatello had engaged in what was a rather unremarkable fight.

Splinter had known something was out of sorts with April the moment she came in the dojo, despite her attempts at concealing it. Something was certainly troubling her as of late and it was hindering her performance. The impetuous young woman was usually passionate and intuitive, with that fire that he himself had admired from the very first day he started teaching her. He had been certain even then that she would one day become a great kunoichi. It was hard to believe this was that same girl.

Once training had begun, her grouchiness had been hard to miss; she was sluggish and hasty in her movements, missing her cues, her katas sloppy and aloof. And that attitude had plainly transferred to her match against Donatello, who seemed at a complete loss, a look of concern etched across his face, and Splinter knew he had done well in pairing her off with him.

His son had mentioned that she had been having trouble sleeping lately because of exam stress, although something told him there was more to it. He didn't want to meddle—she already had her father for that—but it worried him, and if it went on like this he would definitely have to intervene.

"Your head and heart are not in the fight, April! Show some enthusiasm," he shouted over the ruckus.

An apathetic "hai, sensei" was her only attempt at a proper acknowledgement. Splinter gave a throaty grunt of disapproval, but moved on to the next match, trusting those two to work something out on their own.

Raphael and Karai were a whole different thing altogether. Loud and brash, they were a cyclone of claws and growls, like a wild dog fight.

It was imperative that he kept one eye on them while he supervised the rest.

And as for Leonardo and Michelangelo, they probably were the most notable contrast. Leonardo was disciplined and efficient, never one to waste his energy on vague strikes. Michelangelo was frantic, light on his feet as though there was always music in his head. Compared to him, Leonardo was almost static, like a snake waiting to strike at the right moment, when his prey would come within its reach.

Splinter was used to this, watching over several of his children at the same time. It was a skill he had developed long ago out of sheer necessity, when they were but these tiny things crawling around, so easy to lose sight of.

And it was this skill that granted him the ability to see every crinkle in his sons' brows, every flicker of their eyes and every waiver in their voice. They might think he wouldn't notice certain things, but Leonardo's special attention for Karai was never lost on him. Splinter could see the way he deliberately  _wasn't_ looking at her.

He had to make sure this wouldn't be a distraction. Even while still watching over Raphael and Karai, Splinter examined Leonardo's and Michelangelo's match with a critical eye, taking note of their performance.

It was quite astounding, how fast Michelangelo could be. When his orange clad son was motivated, he was like an explosion of shrapnel; a succession of lightning quick hits, his rapidly moving form a series of blotches on the retina. This approach worked wonders against outside opponents who could never see him coming, but Leonardo knew his brother all too well.

One time Michelangelo got too close, and Leonardo crouched to sweep his foot under him. But Michelangelo only backflipped out of the way, untouched, and started circling Leo like an excited chihuahua.

"Stop hopping around and play some offense!" Leonardo cried, trying not to follow his brother with his gaze or else he'd get dizzy real fast.

"This is my offense, bra! I'm wearing you out! That's how I roll! Woooooo!"

Michelangelo performed a few circus grade flips around Leonardo, bouncing off the dojo's tree and scoring a few slaps and tugs of his bandana, taunting him. Leonardo gritted his teeth, but waited… waited… until finally in one unexpected swoop he grabbed him mid-flip around his shoulders and neck and drove him shell-first into the floor with a loud thump.

"Aughhhh… good one, Leo…" Mikey croaked, sprawled as he was on the carpet. Leonardo stood victorious over him.

"Up, Michelangelo! The fight isn't over!" Splinter said behind them before turning his head back to the adjacent pair.

"Okay," Michelangelo squeaked, but was soon up in one jump as if nothing happened and he hadn't just been body-slammed against the ground. He stood, dancing on his heels, lips pursed in concentration, ready for more.

They circled each other, their eyes locked trying to predict the other's first move. Mikey kept moving somewhat erratically, waggling his entire body—and was he humming?

Leo attacked first, going for a frontal assault, but Mikey's reflexes were too quick. He dodged the fist and threw out his own, which connected with Leo's chin. Leo reeled with a cry of surprise and Mikey barked a celebratory guffaw before ducking his head to avoid the next strike. And the next, and the next. The onslaught put Mikey back in flight mode, when it was damn near impossible to land a good hit, and Leonardo gritted his teeth in exasperation.

"Can't touch this, bra!" Mikey cried jubilantly, dancing and prancing about as though dodging a Kraang laser machine gun, while Leo just watched in deepest annoyance. He stealthily pressed down on the carpet with his foot and tugged. Mikey lost his footing when the floor moved beneath him and he tumbled face first into the rug.

Leo sought to take advantage of his adversary's fall and plunged forward with a roar. But Mikey rolled out of the way in time to avoid his fist. He capered about in the air, landing cleanly on his feet facing Leonardo, who was on him in an instant with a new tirade of furious punches. Mikey blocked them one by one, and swat away an oncoming kick to the side when Leonardo finally pinned him to the wall.

 _Now you're mine,_ his inner voice growled, confidence surging pleasantly through him when he finally managed to get his hyperactive flea of a brother exactly where he wanted, which was quite the achievement if he said so himself.

He was looking Mikey dead in the eye through the blurry haze of his own fists and elbows that Michelangelo was desperately trying to block when suddenly at the corner of his eye he caught something.

A flash of a smile, a pair of staring eyes.

His head flicked around ever so slightly, in a reflex triggered by his most deep-seeded instincts, to see Karai giving him a look that could've melted concrete. The moment lasted but for a split-second before she turned her attention back to Raphael's charging mass.

He didn't see what happened next because in the brief moment that his mind had been elsewhere, Mikey had broken his defenses, shoving him off and landing a spinning kick to his temple.

And Leonardo was thrown sideways into the carpet.

"Aw, yeah, son!" the victor shouted.

"Keep your focus on your own fight, Leonardo!" Splinter said harshly, when in truth he was grinning inwardly, fully aware of what had transpired between the two youngsters.

"Hai, sensei," Leonardo responded dejectedly, rubbing the side of his face if only to hide his humiliation from Karai, who was sporting a triumphant smile even after having been brutally tackled to the ground herself by a boastful Raphael.

* * *

She'd been distracted for a fraction of a second, and Raph had rewarded her accordingly for that.

 _Worth it_ , Karai thought as she propped herself up on her elbow clasping her palm against her side.

"Guess you're outta luck, sis. See, your little seductress numbers don't work on me," Raph crooned over her, an ample grin on his smug face. Big mistake.

She kept up the charade until Raph was close enough, and just when he seemed most confident, she shot out her leg and tripped him, and he fell on his rear. Just like that, they'd suddenly changed places, and now Karai stood tall, chuckling devilishly at the look of shock on Raph's face which was quickly morphing into one of unalloyed hatred.

"Luckily, a kunoichi has a whole arsenal of secret weapons at her disposal, none of which you've probably even heard of."

Raphael got up in a squat.

"Let's see you pit them against these, huh?" he growled, flashing his bulging biceps before lunging right at her like a derailed train. Another mistake.

Karai was lightning quick, dodging Raph's charge with an easy roll.

He skidded on the rugs and before he could turn to face her again she was jabbing her knuckles into the tender spot at the back of his knee, making him lose his balance.

She rolled to position herself at his side and Raph barely dodged her foot but by the width of a hair, feeling it graze against his cheek.

Karai hoisted herself up to get away but Raph landed a furious punch on her stomach and she bent over with a puff.

A second punch connected with her face as she tried to move away, but she managed to block the third strike with her bracelet, causing the turtle to lose his footing, giving herself some time to recoil. By the time the fourth strike came, she was ready.

Using Raph's own momentum against him, Karai intercepted his fist and yanked. Raph ran face first into her knee, letting out a cry of pain through the hands now covering his own snout, eyes glossy with tears. Karai took this opportunity to slither around him, shooting back her heel and throwing Raphael on his plastron so she could immediately climb on his carapace to lock both his arms at his back, immobilizing him.

As he struggled to break free, the kunoichi leaned in to whisper sweetly in his ear.

"Awww, already? I hoped a big, strong boy like you would last me a little more. How disappointing."

She basked in the way his body tensed with rage before letting him go. Raph twisted himself out of the lock with a war cry and Karai's lips spread into an impish grin, all ready to test out another secret kunoichi weapon on Raphael: to get him pissed off his wits.

"Tell you what; if you last 20 seconds I'll call it a draw."

Karai basked in the fire burning in Raph's eyes, grinning in anticipation.

Witness to this furious exchange, Splinter had expected having to scold Raph for going too far with Karai, but as it turned out Karai was more than able to take him on, and was in fact enjoying it, with that hint of sadism that she so unabashedly displayed whenever she bested someone in combat.

Just as Karai intended, Raph's rage had flushed all his better judgement down the toilet, thus making it very easy for her to thoroughly kick his ass once more.

"Raph, you're too easy!" she laughed after the fourth time the angry turtle had kissed the floor.

"Brute force isn't everything, Raphael!" Splinter said for what felt like the hundredth time. "She is winning because you are letting her get to you. Control. Think!"

"Yeah, Raph. Think," Karai mocked in an infuriating singsong.

Raph curled his lips into a snarl, but stood his ground, and Splinter could almost hear his own words inside his son's head.  _Like a river over stone, like a river over stone…_ That is if he could even hear it over the sound of his grinding teeth...

Splinter shook his head slowly, certain that this wasn't the end of it by a long shot. The death glares they were giving each other were but the eye of the hurricane. However his eyes drifted off to April, as she was currently standing there throwing angry punches at the sky under Donatello's look of distress.

* * *

"Is something the matter, April?" Splinter asked calmly, and immediately April's arms stopped thrashing to hang limp and bashful at her sides. She gave her sensei a breathless smile.

"I'm just having one of those days, Master Splinter." She shrugged.

Donatello was mute, like a dog whose master is angry and it doesn't know why.

"Whatever it is, you are letting it win. Focus that energy on the fight, not the air."

"Hai, sensei," she replied, simply out of respect. Splinter only offered a short "hmm" and went back to watching over Karai and Raphael, much to April's relief.

Her mood gauge had finally plummeted, from mild crankiness down to plain emotional wreckage. April really couldn't remember a worse training session where she was just incapable of doing anything right, and every botched attempt only added to her frustration. Even when perfectly aware that she had fallen into a vicious cycle—and on top of everything she was taking it out on Donnie—she was a bit too angry about nothing and everything at the moment. She just wanted to punch the wall and scream and it didn't help one bit that Donatello was looking at her like she was a time bomb and he was at a loss for which cable to cut.

Donatello, on the other hand, wouldn't even ask if she was alright, or what was wrong, or anything. He had already tried that and it didn't do much good. So he just submissively lowered his head and waited for her to return to the match. He heard her sigh loudly before she turned towards him, holding his gaze in an air of defiance, daring him to say anything, but he only pressed his lips.

"Do me a favor and don't hold back, because every time you do you're just making me feel like a lousy kunoichi," she said finally, her voice tense like guitar strings.

"You're not lousy!" Donnie protested.

"Then let me prove it! Come on, give it your best!" she demanded, beckoning him closer with her hands, a challenge in her eyes, and Donnie found himself in a conundrum.

Any other day he had no problem hitting her when it was fair, and he also knew for a fact that she hated being given special treatment. And usually that was reasonable, because she really was far from lousy, and had always had a knack for the martial arts.

But the way she'd been performing today, she was practically asking for a thrashing. There was just no competition in her. Maybe Raph would be okay with it, arguing that it would build her character or some crap, but not him. He doubted it would help her at all. Not when she was plainly so miserable, sweaty, flushed and exhausted, but still oh so stubborn. And just thinking about what could be upsetting her so much was twisting his insides.

Notwithstanding, April could get pretty intimidating when she felt contradicted. Talk about being caught between a rock and a hard place.

"Donnie, I swear to God, either you stop treating me like a lady or this is the last time I spar with you."

Donnie straightened up like a meerkat, his brow knitted in disbelief. That's what it was, then? Well, he took offense to that! She thought he was undervaluing her, did she? And she wanted him to be ruthless and inconsiderate? Fine. Then he would be!

...to an extent…

"Okay, April," he said evenly, flexing his knees in a determined, combat-ready stance and watching her do the same.

She gave a long exhale, taking a few seconds to focus.

Then, as unexpectedly as she managed, she attacked, going for a frontal strike at Donnie's plastron. He blocked effortlessly, snatched her arm, twisting it until it went rigid while pivoting around himself. April grunted in surprise before she could even see the elbow coming right at her guts.

She doubled over, pausing to rub her shoulder but for a heartbeat. And before she had time to adopt a new defensive position, Donnie was already sweeping his leg underneath her. His foot hooked onto her ankle and she lost her balance. Her knee connected painfully with the floor and she rolled to avoid Donnie's finishing jab on the back that would've stamped her into the rug.

He recoiled nimbly from her pirouette as she strived to break her own momentum, her muscles in strain.

Once her feet were again firm underneath her, she threw a rotating kick. Donatello blocked with a rock-hard forearm, the impact knocking her off balance. As she was forced to lower her leg back down to try to regain her stability, Donnie used this instant of hesitation to shove a hand into her solar plexus. The thrust propelled her backwards and she landed on her butt with a cry of pain.

When she lifted her gaze, she saw Donatello standing there looking at her with an apologetic wince that only made her angrier.

And he wasn't even breaking a sweat.

She pushed herself off the floor with a growl, jaw set, and stood facing him. He immediately adopted a ready stance again and they looked in each other's eyes. He seemed to be waiting for her to make the first move.

April took her time, gauging him, thinking of ways she could fool her way past his defenses. She would try to catch him off guard this time.

She baited him with a step forward and feigned a punch. It seemed to work for a millisecond as Donnie flinched to avoid it.

But he quickly saw through her ruse. He moved in time to block the kick that she'd tried to sneak in from the side.

As he dodged her, he put her arm in a lock and pushed to unbalance her, then pulled, twisted on the spot, jamming his back against April's torso and flinging her over his carapace. Her back and pelvis bounced against the rug and she gave a strangled cry.

Just like that, the match was over. And before it had even begun.

That had been humiliatingly quick...

Okay, she'd been pretty awful throughout the entire session, but this had been the first time she regretted demanding Donnie gave his best. He was friggin' untouchable. This is how he fared even when he was supposed to be tired from lack of rest!

Suddenly she had a realization:  _all_ the turtles had been going easy on her, not just Donnie. And this didn't help her self-esteem at all.

April cursed through her teeth and stomped her heels on the carpet before rolling to her feet again, ready to face Donnie and try once more.

She was sweating profusely now, her bangs sticking to her forehead and stinging her eyes with the salt of her own perspiration. But she would not grant herself the comfort of surrender.

She waited for Donnie to mimic her pose, but instead of that, he put his hands up in an offer of peace and approached her. He spoke in a low voice so as not to call Splinter's attention. He probably wanted to baby her with words of unconditional support and she was in no mood for that today.

"Sorr-"

"Don't you apologize for that!" she cut him off, resisting the urge to massage her aching glutes. "We're sparring, it's what you're supposed to do."

"I know," he said, and his mouth started curving upwards in a mischievous grin. "I was gonna say 'sorry for still going easy on you'."

April gave him a death stare, which actually didn't last long before it dissolved into a snarky grin. Eventually that also gave way to an actual smile, even if it was a nervous kind of smile, brimmed with embarrassment and exhaustion.

 _I guess it would be okay to rest for a minute_ , she thought, her stance melting until suddenly she found herself sitting on the floor.

Donnie finally deemed it safe to squat in front of her and she in turn crossed her legs, allowing herself a moment to catch her breath. She exhaled; a long, tired sigh.

"Boy, I suck today."

She was sure he was going to contradict her, but instead she saw him nod his head.

"You're sucking stellarly," he admitted, and she couldn't help but press her lips into a thin line, even when technically this was exactly what she'd asked of him.

"Hey, you asked for it," he said right on cue.

"Well, you didn't have to be so blunt."

"Come on, April. I can say that because I know this isn't your usual you. You're just having a bad day, it happens to all of us. You're actually a great fighter."

April gave a disheartened chortle.

"I hope you're not patronizing me, Donnie. You know how much I hate that."

"I am  _not_ patronizing you, April!" Donnie retorted, looking insulted. "You've been doing this for what, two years? We've been practicing ninjutsu our entire lives, and you're already this good! Any other day I'd have to put up a fight. You can kick anyone's ass when you put your mind to it, I know from experience! You gotta give yourself a break."

April looked in his earnest eyes, and knew he meant what he said. She lowered her head, but felt a tiny bit better.

"I know, I just… I can't focus at all today. I haven't slept at all, worrying about things and…"

April almost wanted him to ask 'what things', but even when he looked like he would like to, it was already obvious he wasn't going to ask again. Not after what a jerk she'd been last time he tried, only about ten minutes ago.

Maybe it was for the better that he didn't. She wouldn't have known what to tell him anyway.

"Look, why don't we try something else? We can simplify," he said and lifted himself up to his full height. She did the same and listened to what he had to say in his friendly teaching voice. "By working on just one aspect of a given activity at a time we'll be able to pinpoint what you're doing wrong. We isolate and favor the learning curve of that one aspect, maximizing focus. For example, leave all the attacking to me and you can concentrate on your blocking techniques." Donatello was already back in position, but keeping close at arm's reach.

"Fine," she agreed, gathering all her remaining strength to at least get this one simple thing right before the day's training ended, so that she could at least say it wasn't a complete waste of time.

"I've noticed a tendency to slacken your stance. Remember to keep your arms up here." Donnie took her forearms in his big fingers and moved them to their correct height guarding her face and chest, giving a gentle squeeze to make her hold the position.

Of course, she knew all this. The theory, at least. But Donnie was right, she always did that without realizing it. Splinter had called her out on it countless times. Usually she tried to be careful, but today she had completely neglected everything she'd learned in the past couple of years. So, biting back the urge to yell "I know!", she gave a loud sigh and nodded in confirmation.

"Elbows close to your body, mobile but firm, and remember to breathe correctly," Donnie continued, and to prove his point, he simulated a slo-mo punch at her face where his fist encountered the barrier of her forearms, then at her side, and she instinctively flinched moving her elbow to protect her ribs whilst tensing her abdominal muscles, air rushing out in a tight hiss. Her instructor gave her a smile of approval.

As if that was the first time she'd done that right...

She really was trying not to take this the wrong way. She kept telling herself this was only feedback; useful stuff. But her ego was particularly touchy today and any form of correction just felt like an insult. She already knew all this!

_Okay, then why aren't you doing any of it?_

"Always look me in the eyes," Donnie said as sole warning before throwing a hook at her cheek. She barely reacted in time, but blocked it at the last moment and his fist receded. She kept her eyes on his as he instructed, but watched for any movement in the periphery.

She saw his shoulder move one millisecond before his elbow and fist followed like a whip and this time she was ready. Her hand deflected the strike.

But Donnie didn't stop there. Another strike almost caught her by surprise. And then a third.

"Don't nail yourself to the spot. Use the space. Never stay still."

The attacks got faster, rougher.

She was finding it more and more difficult to keep up and started retreating towards the wall. It didn't take long for a blow to get through, and she doubled over at the impact, almost getting an elbow in her nose as a result. She managed to deflect it sloppily with a swat of her hand, but already her forearms hurt, and she felt stitches in her sides.

"You're doing good, April!" Donnie said, giving her a moment's rest to gather herself before starting again and she took the opportunity to give him a disbelieving roll of her eyes. "Keep moving, but don't turn your back on me..."

He made to strike with another deliberate hook to her ribs. April should've known it was a trap.

She moved to block the second fist, swiveling her torso in a movement that turned out too wide. She left her other elbow out in the open and he gripped it, twisting her arm behind her back. She cried out, unconsciously flailing her free arm, allowing Donatello to grab it as well.

"...or else this happens."

April started, surprised by Donatello's voice so close to her ear. He was holding her up against him. She could feel the buckle of his shoulder strap digging into her scapula, and his agitated breaths on her temple.

"Elbows in," he reiterated, letting go of her arms and standing back.

And April hesitated to face him.

The feel of his plastron pressed up against her lingered on her back and neck, and she could only hope it wouldn't be written all over her face, or that at the very least the sweat would mask the burning flush on her cheeks. She rolled away the soreness of her shoulders and finally turned around, panting and aching all over.

And as it couldn't be otherwise, her eyes chose that exact moment to fixate on the elegant curve of his neck, muscles visibly taut under the mottled green skin.

_It's a pity he slouches so much._

She forced herself to look away, and ended up just staring at his arms as if she was seeing them for the first time; slender and sinewy, glistening with a thin layer of sweat...

_Whoa._

_Easy there, April. Now is not the time._

"Alright?" Donnie said cautiously in the elongated silence, the shouting from the other matches sounding far away.

_The hell's come over you? You've done this dozens of times with him. Get your head in the game, now!_

"Yeah." She immediately regained her stance, shoving aside the pesky thoughts and sensations and forcing herself to hold his gaze.

"Go again?" he proposed.

"Sure."

She meant to sound determined and eager, but she was tired and her forearms were throbbing painfully from all the blocking. Donatello still kept true to his word. He was relentless in his attacks and already she was starting to lose her concentration, and her patience. More so when the next impact sent a jolt of pain all the way up her arm, that latched onto the ball of her shoulder. And once again she neglected her stance.

"Elbows!" Donnie corrected before going straight for the weak spot.

"I know!" she exhaled, barely blocking another attack aimed at her exposed ribcage.

He swung a fist at her left side next, and once again April didn't recognize the distraction. Fingertips dug into her opposite side between ribs, making her recoil with a loud yelp. It had tickled more than hurt, but that didn't make it any less humiliating.

She lifted her eyes to find a fiendish smile on the turtle's face. He must've found that very amusing.

"Sure you do," he chuckled evilly and she felt her shoulders tense and her hands fist.

He kept saying "Elbows in!" and she kept forgetting because she didn't have the energy to care anymore. His pointers hit her like tennis balls to the head, concentration slipping, and still a small part of her was too proud to call time-out. April could feel the pressure inside her rising, rising, her whole body trembling from exertion and rage, tension building with every bullseye of Donnie's fingertips on her side that she failed to block again and again.

Instead of focusing, her mind chose to ask her stupid questions.

_Shouldn't it be quitting time already?_

She was about to give up and call him off.

"Don't make me tickle you again!"

One last surge of adrenaline took hold of her at the prospect, fueled by all the pent up frustration. And that's when it happened.

Just as Donatello moved to fling out his hand at her abdomen, her fist jerked and shot upwards to strike at whatever it would hit.

It connected with a fwap.

Just one hit. And immediately she froze, knowing that same instant exactly where she'd hit him.

She gasped, eyes shot open to look at Donnie, and her hands covered her mouth at the sight of him kneeling on the carpet, clutching his throat with both hands, struggling to breathe.

"Donnie?!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the cliffhanger!
> 
> If you liked it, please leave a comment. It really goes a long way! :D
> 
> This chapter took forever to get right omg. It wasn't just the first fight scene we had actually written, but it also had a ton of POVs and after one of our beta readers pointed the head-hopping out to us, we spent some time trying to fix that too. We learned a lot that week XD
> 
> Thank you so much for reading!


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> April did not kill Donnie! Phew!  
> Donnie makes the best out of the circumstances.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First of all, we want to thank all those who take the time to review. Just the smallest comment makes us so happy. People have no idea how much a review can make an author's day. So thank you, guys! :D Stay awesome!
> 
> Sorry about the previous cliffhanger. Here's your reward.
> 
> Apriltello fluffness ahead!
> 
> As always, co-written by me and Violette-Aner. Look her up on Deviantart.   
> And of course, a huge thank you to Queequegg for the extensive beta reading. You rock, gurl!

 

Half-way across the dojo, Splinter's ears twitched and his head spun at the sounds of distress coming from the far end of the room.

"Yame!" he shouted to the whole of the dojo as he sprang towards Donatello, the others' shouts already abating.

"Master Splinter!" April called, her voice wavering. She was all over Donatello, hands fumbling about in a panicked daze. Splinter was already aware of the situation before she even had time to explain.

"I hit him in the throat, he can't breathe! It was an accident!"

Splinter gently urged her aside as he took her place kneeling in front of his son. Donatello's eyes were as saucers, shooting Splinter a brief glance, a silent cry for help. A strangled sound forced its way out of his mouth as he struggled to pull in a breath.

"Donatello, look at me," he commanded in the same voice he would use during lessons. He could see Donatello forcing himself to hold his gaze, his features contorted in alarm, his mouth agape like a fish out of water.

"Oh God, I killed him! I killed him!" April cried.

"Who?" came Karai's voice behind them, but nobody paid her any mind. Karai and Raph were still engaged in a picassian knot of strangled limbs. Splinter had forgotten to keep an eye on them.

Unaware that anything had even happened until they heard April scream, they finally disentangled themselves from each other, Raphael shoving the kunoichi aside to hurry over to whatever had happened that had them all grouped around the crouching figures.

Splinter took Donatello's hands, lovingly yet firmly leading them away from his throat to rest at his thighs, then made him sit up straight, studying the situation all the while. It wasn't as bad, he thought, and felt the churning of terror in his own gut recede.

"Relax, my son. It's nothing, you are just a little agitated," he assured. Donatello would trust him enough to know it was true. "Breathe with me."

Splinter guided Donatello through the breathing, setting the pace for him as he strived to keep a rhythm. All the while April watched, heart in her mouth, her own breath knocked out of her, and in her mind she implored Donnie to get through it and just say something. She felt a touch on her back and she turned to see Leonardo.

"He's going to be okay," his eyes promised. It wasn't good enough. She had to see for herself.

It took a couple of minutes, but Donnie's breaths started coming in a little easier each time.

Tension slowly ebbed away from Donnie's face as he eventually started to relax. He swallowed, tears of strain escaping the corners of his eyes. At last he inhaled shakily, pulling in a lungful of air before releasing it forth, his features going lax as he nodded his head in reassurance. There was a general sigh of relief.

"It's good, I'm good," he rasped, making a soothing motion of his hand at his audience, and April bolted forth, crouching before him.

"Oh my God! Donnie, I'm so sorry!"

"That's ok- hem… okay," he croaked and prudently cleared his throat.

Splinter gave him a soft pat on his shoulders and stood.

"Rest," he said, then turned to the nearest turtle. "Bring ice."

Leonardo gave a nod and headed purposefully for the exit.

Still wobbly from the scare, Donnie sat back on his heels, massaging his trachea. April sat close beside him giving his arm a few soft, comforting rubs as the rest gathered around.

"You okay, dude?" Mikey asked, the creases of concern not entirely gone from his brow.

"Yeah. Although I think I might have... swallowed my Adam's apple," Donnie said carefully, his poor larynx still struggling to form words.

"No way you'd pass that big boy, bro. You're safe," Mikey joked, and beamed at the little chuckle of approval from Karai.

April looked up at Donnie, his expression still a little hazy, and saw the two stains of moisture on the violet fabric under his eyes. Her stomach gave a lurch, leaden with guilt.

When Donnie turned he caught her staring, all hint of anger gone from her face and replaced by something that actually hurt more to look at. He could never stand to see that look on her and tried to assuage her worries, and by extension his own.

"You know, if we were characters in a game of Mazes and Mutants, that would've earned you like two level-ups. Critical hit!" he wheezed, and the wince of pain that followed might have taken a little out of the celebratory tone. But it worked. It made her smile...

"I almost killed you," she giggled a little nervously.

"Hey, what can I say. It took my breath away."

"Dude, no." Raphael groaned. Loudly.

But April laughed, finally a little relieved, and whenever that happened, Donnie would instantly stop caring about anything Raph could ever dish out.

Oh, man. He wanted to hold her so badly right now, and let her know that it was all good, and how grateful he was that she cared. He had to remind himself not to stare, when really he could bask in the light of her smile all day.

"Told you not to go easy on me," she said playfully and Raph barked a laugh.

"Yeah, maybe April should be going easy on you, Donnie!" he joked, and the wisecracking that followed was cut off by a blunt "Yame!"

Everybody turned to see a scowl of utmost disapproval on Splinter's face, especially directed at Raph. Their sensei jerked his head sideways, that simple gesture ordering them to sit in line before him, surely to better administer his wrath.

They all started moving to take their places across the rugs, certain that whatever Splinter hadn't liked about that exchange -and why he had singled out Raphael- they would soon know. April kindly eased Donnie up by the arm to make sure he wouldn't lose balance or anything. But even though it was soon obvious he didn't need the help, he didn't turn it down either. Just having April be all over him like this was its own excuse.

Leo walked in through the entrance then with an ice pack that he handed over to Donnie to massage over the sore area, and joined the rest. Then the row of young ninjas waited for the scolding that was to come.

Splinter regarded them all with severe eyes to make sure they were all listening. April's head was low and her brow was furrowed. He would deal with that in a bit.

"Raphael."

Said turtle winced at the sound of his name.

"That," Splinter said, "was  _not_ an example. April did not do well today, and I'm fairly certain she did not do that on purpose."

April's head hung lower as confirmation.

"Therefor, it was not something to celebrate. Contrary to what Raphael may think, we never aim to hurt our sparring partner."

"I never said that, sensei! It was only a joke!"

Splinter flicked his head towards him and he froze.

Once Raphael had settled down again, eyes lowered in submission, he continued.

"As I was saying… You hurt the enemy, not your fellow dojo team-mates. In here we must be watchful of our own movement so these things never happen. Training is not just about learning fancy ways to maim your opponent. It's not even about winning. It is an exercise in teamwork and, most importantly, self awareness. Control. It should go without saying, the throat is off limits in a friendly environment. So we do not  _joke_ about this. It was a  _mistake_ ," Splinter pointedly chewed out the last word, "and it could have been a very grave one."

"I know, sensei," Raph admitted, then in a show of humility added "Sorry, Donnie."

Splinter was satisfied, and he then stepped over to stand before April. His shadow loomed over her small cringing figure.

"April, I expect what happened taught you a valuable lesson. If I had known you were harboring such anger I would not have let you spar. I hope next time you are feeling this way you will trust us enough to let us know before, instead of projecting your feelings in such hurtful manner."

"I-I wasn't that angry, it just... slipped! I wasn't thinking and..."

But one look from Splinter was enough to silence her protests. And just like Raphael, she bowed her head submissively, because when Splinter looked at them like this, there was nothing else to do.

She was absolutely mortified. Her personal life was seeping through the cracks of her facade and everyone was ogling at the puddle.

Beside her, she saw Donatello risking a glance at her. She didn't meet his eyes. She knew Splinter didn't appreciate being ignored when he was in the middle of a lesson.

"You've all heard me say this before: the dojo is our sanctuary, where we devote ourselves to our art. When you come in here, you leave your troubles at the door, you do not drag their weight in with you. Emotions are inflammable. Like fuel, they can be a powerful driving force. But there must be someone at the wheel, or we become dangerous to ourselves and those around us."

Splinter let his young pupils mull over that for a few seconds, and ultimately locked gazes with April.

"Self awareness," he said finally, tapping his temple with his clawed finger.

"It won't happen again, sensei. I promise."

"Good," Splinter said solemnly, inclining his head. Then his tone changed. "Don't feel bad, April. This isn't the first time this has happened. We have all made mistakes. The important thing is that we rectify… and learn from them."

"Hai, sensei," April muttered, the soothing voice of her mentor washing away some of the superficial guilt clogging up her conscience.

She had a distinct feeling this lesson transcended the dojo walls, but how to implement it out there was a whole different deal.

Splinter lifted his eyes from her and spoke up.

"You know my door is always open, for anything you need to talk about. Any one of you."

"Hai, sensei." This time the words were chanted by everyone present.

"You may go."

There was a murmur of feet as everybody stood and started making their way towards the exit. Mikey immediately started coaxing them towards the kitchen, talking about what he was going to have for lunch.

April's first instinct was to get out of there as soon as possible, but one look from Donnie had her pinned to the spot. He didn't say anything. All he did was pause his steps to offer her a casual smile over his shoulder, as though checking to see if she was following. And so she did, partly thankful that his approach still seemed to be based on avoiding questions, like she'd requested earlier.

Which was more than she could say for some...

"Boy, did you get up on the wrong side today, April," Raph jested as he passed her, and she barely stopped herself from falling flat on her face as a result of the gargantuan pat on her back. After all this time being the victim of Raph's lack of clemency, she had thankfully learned to see these things coming.

"Don't tease her, it's just that time of the month. I can relate," Karai said, catching up to them, and nobody bought the empathetic tone for a moment.

"It's not that!" April grunted half-heartedly before Michelangelo joined in the conversation.

"I can make you chocolate pizza, cuz I know from experience that chocolate helps in these cases…"

April had to wonder what kind of experience a male  _turtle_ could have on that matter, but then she remembered she was talking to Mikey. And above all, he had just offered chocolate and pizza. So screw pride.

"Okay," she said. "Hey, but no weird extra toppings."

Mikey gave her a concerned once over.

"Man, it really is serious… I'm gonna have to work double-time!" he said right before he burst into a sprint and almost ran over Raphael as they both passed the kitchen curtains, followed shortly by April and Karai.

"So, Don… you think that's all it is? That she's… you know?" Leo asked Donnie covertly before reaching the drapes, pointing a thumb inside, and Donnie gave him a look.

Of course he knew, if only for all the time he and April spent together. Obviously it helped that he had a better calendar inside his mind than any smartphone. And as much as he tried to appear as though he was weirded out by the question, he couldn't fool Leo.

Donnie pressed his lips in surrender, a little smile forming as he admitted to it, and he shook his head.

"Not yet."

Leo nodded, visibly satisfied.

"So how're  _you_ feeling?" he asked, one hand on his carapace as they passed the drapes to the kitchen to join the rest.

"Good!" He cleared his throat, but it did nothing to placate the gruffness in his voice. He took off the ice pack to rub off the cold with his other hand and he saw April shooting him a worried glance from across the table. She was quick to take her eyes away, though, as she was presently in a heated discussion with Mikey on the pros and cons of chocolate- _jalapeño_  pizza.

"I'll just have to take a few meds for good measure," Donnie went on. "Probably purée my pizza for the next couple days. But then I'll be good as new."

"Wait. I know just the thing," Karai said out of nowhere, and opened one of the cabinets to retrieve a pot, filling it with water and leaving it to heat on the stove.

"Ah, yes! Vapors!" Donnie said approvingly in his grave new voice, and respectfully turned down the first bowl of cheese nachos, his sore throat crying out at the very thought of solid food.

While the nacho bowl was being passed around, Splinter announced that he'd be taking a walk out on the tunnel and made to grab a cheese-sicle from the freezer. He stopped to pat Ice Cream Kitty on the head, who purred, before closing it and heading out, the stick of the cheese-sicle held gracefully between his fingertips.

A couple more bowls filled with a variety of snacks went around as the group immersed itself in the usual small talk. Mikey was warming them up to a new movie he had found on VHS. It was about ninjas, apparently, and it promised to be as cheesy and over-the-top as the cover art made it out to be **.** Eventually Karai got up to retrieve the boiling water from the stove, setting it down on the table near Donnie and adding a bunch of eucalyptus leaves.

"Come 'ere," she commanded, and shoved Donnie's shoulders down, forcing him onto a stool so his face was enveloped with the soothing scent of the steam.

"Uh, tha-" he started to say before his head was covered in its entirety by some kind of rag. "Thanks," he tried again from under the medium-sized towel, fingers nervously drumming on the wooden surface of the table at the snickers coming in all directions.

"As much as I am looking forward to laughing at Donnie right now, I'm gonna take a leak before Karai thinks of fixing her makeup."

"Thank you for the insight, Raph," Donnie said, lifting the towel over his face to shoot Raph a sarcastic glance for good measure as he stepped through the kitchen curtains.

"Oh my gosh, Donnie!" Mikey said, and Donatello turned to see his little brother pointing a dramatic finger at him as if he'd suddenly sprouted turtle zits. "I figured out who you sound like! You totally sound like Leo!"

The group burst into loud laughter at the realization, and that included Donatello. His voice sounded absolutely rugged.

"I'm the hero New York deserves," Donnie said in a brooding fashion, towel still draped over his head like a baroque wig, and everyone laughed even harder.

"Shouldn't you be resting your voice instead of goofing around with it?" Leo scolded.

"Worried, Leo? Because it looks to me like you got some competition," Karai said with a smack to Leo's shell, knocking his eye-roll right off.

"Hey, if this is all it took I would've done it sooner!" Donnie nudged a shoulder at April and she giggled mischievously.

"Don't let Master Splinter hear you say that…" she breathed. Her smile made him smile, and with that he proclaimed Project Cheer-up a success.

"But you won't get to keep your new Batman voice, right?" Karai joked.

"No, unfortunately I'll be sounding like regular me in a few days," Donnie said in mock-wistful tones.

"Well I, for one, am glad for that," April said, and she gently eased Donnie's head down over the steaming bowl, draping the towel back over his face, then gave the top of the white mound a soft pat as a reward for his compliance.

Donnie exhaled a sigh and breathed in the palliative fumes, letting them do their thing as he tried to follow the new trail of conversation, which soon had split up into two or three nuclei as he just sat there probably looking like a cheap halloween costume.

He could hear April and Karai chatting it up near the sink behind him, and they were talking about the new armor. April sounded very intrigued, which revived the butterflies in Donnie's stomach. And because his face was covered by a towel, he didn't have to worry about his stupid smile being seen. So he allowed it to stretch to its full width as goosebumps started crawling their way up his arms at the thought of April wearing the armor that he had made for her. He'd already taken a few notes from the fashion show to add to his design. Would the rivets be a bit tacky for her?

Finally the snack bowls became empty -which didn't take long with Mikey around- and soon there were sounds of sliding stools and discarded kitchenware as they each started heading out to go about their respective business. Donnie folded back the front of the towel over his head and held the pot up under his chin, a cloth protecting his hands from the hot metal. Eyes intent on April, as if he feared he could lose sight of her, he followed everybody out.

He'd been dying to tell her about his chat with future Donatello the previous afternoon, waiting for the perfect chance, but such a moment hadn't presented itself yet, between homework, and her dad, and training... They hadn't had that much time to just hang out at all lately for the same reasons **.**

And with that last midnight hug from two days ago still fresh on his mind, he'd been striving to find an answer to his questions all day in the way she looked at him, the way she talked to him. He could almost swear there was something different. But how could he know it wasn't simply what he wanted to see?

He caught up to her but when he opened his mouth, the only thing that came out was a faint warble. He cleared his throat, stifling a wince, and saw she was already paying close attention, waiting for him to speak with a smile of amusement. Man, he was going to miss the extra attention once this went away.

"I was gonna ask…" He paused and cleared his throat again. Every syllable sent a pang through his aching vocal chords. "You gonna stay for lunch? I think Casey's coming over, we could have that study session we talked about."

He saw her bite the inside of her cheek.

"I can't. Dad's back from the trip with his therapy group and we're gonna have lunch together."

Donnie did his best not to let his disappointment show.

"Oh, right! How did that go?" he asked.

April had told him about the psychotherapy group Mr.O'neil had been collaborating with, the very same that had helped him a couple of months ago. The group was one of many that City Hall had been promoting for a while, aimed at the hundreds of New Yorkers that were still dealing with the aftermath of the last alien invasion. Kirby had gotten better and decided to help others in the same situation as he, as a way of giving something back. Judging by what little April had told them, Kirby was far from fully recovered, but he was active, getting his life back, and being an aid to others was helping him as well.

It was important to April. So Donnie was not exactly faking interest.

But April was looking at her T-Phone's clock now, suddenly in a hurry, and once more Donnie saw his odds of spending time with April that day vanish before his eyes.

"I'll ask him. I-I really gotta run."

She paused, and reached out to touch Donnie's hand, carefully as he was still holding the pot. "Sorry I almost killed you, Don."

Donnie gave a wheezy chuckle, shrugging that away, and her honest smile warmed him to the core.

"Take care, okay? I'll call you later to see how you are."

"Okay," Donnie said, while in his head he was hopping around in joy just for the prospect of getting a phonecall from April. "Say hi to your dad."

She promised to do just that, picked up her backpack and was off. Donnie watched her go, jumping over the turnstiles to disappear down the tunnel.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Remember, reviews are writer chow!


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Karai is a troll.   
> Leo fights back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is teasing Leorai all around!
> 
> Have fun... *eyebrow wiggle*
> 
> Remember! Reviews are writer chow! :D We always try to reply whenever possible.
> 
> And as always, a huge thank you to Queequegg and Theherocomplex for their amazing beta reading!

 

Leo watched Donnie's and April's exchange from the foot of the dojo steps near the kitchen, trying to draw some sort of conclusion.

After what he'd seen and heard earlier in the dojo between his brother and Karai -and then later in the kitchen- Leonardo couldn't help being paranoid. Watching Karai's behavior for the last fifteen minutes hadn't helped, as expected, so now he was trying to look for any kind of confirmation that at least Donatello was still head over heels for April.

_Not_ Karai.

"Hey, Leo. You up for a quickie?"

Speak of the devil. Leonardo swivelled around at the sound of Karai's voice to find her looking down on him from the top of the steps, a smug grin on her face, like being higher than him made her better than him.

"Uh… a-a quickie?"

"I'd like to put this armor through the mighty test of your sword."

Leo frowned at the choice of words, her shameless tone of voice. He stood there, frozen in place, until Karai took her hand from her back and he saw her holding his niten ryu.

"Yeah, you know. I realized we didn't get to go one on one today. And that just won't do," she said, a wicked grin splitting her face. "Think of it as extra credit."

Leonardo finally managed to jump-start his mind:

"Oh, you're talking about a fight- a spar, sparring match," he said, flustered, stumbling over his words.

"What else would I be talking about?" she said, shrugging one shoulder, and she tossed him his swords. Then, slowly and deliberately, she turned her back to him, throwing a cheeky glance behind her.

Leo sighed in resignation, cursing the heat on his neck and cheeks and the wriggly sensation in his center. He took a deep breath, trying to collect himself before following her back inside the dojo. He knew he would never be able to reject the invitation, no matter how much he dreaded it. Not when she was looking at him like that, and those metal rivets in her new armor glinted so alluringly in the backlight.

_I am going to regret this…_ Leo thought, and sighed.

"Alright, Karai. But you should know, I can see all your little tricks coming a mile away," Leo said, playing it cool, but feeling the exact opposite. His hands were slick with sweat, and he tightened the grip on his swords.

"Forgive me for doubting that, Mochi-chan."

Leonardo blinked in bewilderment. He couldn't have heard that right...

"Mochi-"

"That's right. I found you a nickname," Karai said blithely while adjusting the straps on her new cuffs. "You like it?"

"Mochi? Really? How am I like a mochi?" Leo protested, already prey to the effects of her teasing. It hadn't even been a whole minute.

_Good thing you could see her tricks coming, Leo… Please, just get a grip before it's too late._

"Because you're like those green tea mochis; sweet and squishy. The perfect post-workout snack." She smirked.

"Damnit, Karai..." And that was it. He had nothing. They had just gotten started and already he literally had nothing but the slight tremor in his lower lip that he desperately tried to hide by biting down on it. All he could do now was to wield his swords at her in a threatening manner.

"Aww, how sweet, you still blush and everything. You sweet, sweet mochi," she cooed, circling him in a casual saunter, hand ready at her hilt.

The turtle swallowed, forcing himself not to fixate on the graceful shimmy of her hips, wrapped in that tight sash that left little to the imagination.

_Okay, too late. Now I'm gone._

"Oh, I could really go for a mochi right now," she kept going, relentless. He knew she was only trying to distract him. Problem was, it was working...

"A nice, green tea mochi, mmm. I would eat it up in little nibbles so it would last me for hours."

Karai lunged forward and Leonardo barely reacted in time. Her wakizashi drew a wide arc in the air, the turtle avoiding the blade by the width of a hair, hearing the whistle of the metal by his ear. He swung his sword, knocking away her weapon.

"Good reflexes, Mochi-chan, I thought I had you!"

The sound of his new nickname grated at his eardrums like the scratching of a blade on stone. Maybe if he ignored it, it would go away. It was his only chance.

He steadied himself, and curled his mouth into a haughty snarl.

"My ninjutsu training has reached levels you can't imagine, Karai," he said, almost recovered from the embarrassment, his feigned smugness an attempt at playing along.

"Hmmm, I like the sound of that! I'd love to see exactly how far your skills reach, Mochi-chan," Karai said before performing a graceful feint. She dodged his return strike with ease, and one bump of her hip on his plastron knocked him off balance. "I'm sure you excel in many areas."

"Can we just fight and cut the crap, please?" Leonardo cawed heatedly, hacking the air with his blades in a burst of impatience.

"Bo-ring!" Karai sang. "Being a ninja is more than knowing your katas by heart, Leo-chan. You have to learn to repel any attack from the enemy, of any kind." She winked.

"In that case, thanks for the lessons, Karai. But then why do you only teach them to me, huh?" His heart skipped a beat at his own insinuation, but in all honesty he couldn't wait to see all cards on the table once and for all.

"How do you know I only use it on you, Leo?"

Leonardo scoffed, but paused in thought.

"So... you do all these... " He grasped for the right word, discarding every single one that came to mind, until he found one that was innocuous enough. He gestured with the tip of his sword towards Karai. "These  _techniques_. You use them with the others?" He realized this wasn't the time nor the place, but somehow was unable to repress the urge to ask.

And now he hated himself for sounding jealous.  _Crap!_  That was it. From now on he was going to focus on combat, and only on combat. No more being a victim to her games.

"Nah, I save this technique just for you, Mochi-chan. Because you're worth it." She swung her sword low at Leo's knees, making him jump in order to avoid the blade. He countered with a swipe at the girl's head, but she dodged it with grace as though it were but a pesky draft before striking a dramatic thinking pose.

"Although now that I think about it, I  _am_ being a little unfair."

"What do you mean?" he said in an irked monotone.

"Well, maybe I shouldn't save this kind of training only for you. The others could surely benefit from a kunoichi's techniques, as you so elegantly put it."

Leonardo only narrowed his eyes in concentration.

"Oh yes, Donnie would be the perfect candidate," Karai said, tilting her head as though deep in thought, and Leonardo couldn't help imagining her and Donatello enjoying a solo sparring session. Her smile of delight completely knocked Leonardo off balance. He gaped, images from the last couple of weeks of the two of them together coming back to him in a whirl. Was it possible after all?

It came as no real surprise when she suddenly wheeled, disarming him of one of his niten ryu and keeping it for herself before retreating all in one fluid move.

Now there she was, gloating from afar. And there  _he_ was, one sword short and that dumb look on his face.

"That's funny, look what just fell into my hand! Aw, but its colors don't even match mine! Oh well…" Karai discarded the newly acquired sword, tossing it aside like a used plastic plate. Leo winced, but he'd been expecting it - she had much better weapons at her disposal after all.

But Leo couldn't help the question that gushed out of him - he couldn't have contained it anymore than he could contain water in a broken strainer.

"What did you mean about you and Donnie…?"

Karai laughed, an open, clamorous guffaw.

"Oh, Leo, don't be silly! I said that to get to your sword," Karai crooned playfully. "It worked, too. You know, sometimes I come up with new ways to screw with you and initially I think 'naw, he won't fall for that'. But then you always surprise me."

Leonardo took a step back, the burning sting of indignation rising in his throat. He had faced the taunts and insults of his brothers and his enemies alike, time and again, but only Karai could make him feel like a complete imbecile.

"You know, Karai, eventually you  _will_  succeed, and one day I  _will_  turn down sparring with you forever," he said sharply. "That's what you want, isn't it?"

"Oh, come on, don't be such a drama queen."

"Maybe to you these are nothing more than kunoichi games to kill the time…"

"Whoa, Leo…" she chuckled, her laughter not quite as cheerful as before - maybe in response to the tightness in his own voice.

"...but the joke's getting a little old for the rest of us."

"Don't you think you're blowing this out of-"

"All I ask is that you stop playing and be  _honest_ , for once in your life." Leonardo started moving, ready to take off. "But I guess you don't even know the meaning of the word-"

"Alright!" Karai said loudly, cutting him off. Leonardo was immediately quiet, and the silence thickened between them as he waited for her to speak.

For a few moments, Karai only stared, a look of deep confusion on her face as Leonardo firmly held her gaze, his jaw clenched.

She blinked and let her eyes fall to the floor before exhaling a hefty sigh, her entire body sinking until suddenly she looked much smaller.

When she lifted her head again, her eyes were looking at him through her eyelashes. Her wakizashi was now held low, tip pointed at the rug, and still she stared, her stance relaxed but determined. The seconds stretched until Leonardo began to feel just a tad uncomfortable. But he would not yield. Not this time.

Karai's head tilted to the side as though deep in thought, and Leo let out a huff of annoyance.  _There she goes again_ , thought Leo.  _Why did I think she could ever do what I ask of her?_

Hardly in the mood for more nonsense, Leonardo braced himself in a ready stance and taunted her, sword wobbling its tip at her, inviting her to make a move, eager to get it all over with.

But she in no way acknowledged his call to arms.

"Leo."

He froze at the suddenness of it.

The way she had said his name. Her voice was leaden with purpose, her eyes fixed deliberately on his. Piercing. She looked dead serious.

"What?" he said slowly, half the word evaporating in front of his mouth like wisps of breath in the cold at the sight of her expression. Her lips were parted, like she wanted to say something but didn't quite find the right words.

She closed her mouth and lifted her head, and Leo was met with a determined gaze that could stop a train. Not taking her eyes off him, she carefully guided her weapon to its sheath at the back of her sash. The blade slid out of sight and her hand fell to her side, dangling over her hip. And then she started moving towards him.

Leonardo was knocked off his senses. Because  _this… this_ was new.

She took short step after short step, a stalking panther. She was taking her sweet time, looking at him. Staring him down. His grip faltered, and he watched as the tip of his own sword lowered almost of its own accord.

So this was it? It was happening? How would they tell the others? What would Master Splinter say?!

Leonardo's heart pounded against his plastron, breath hitching in his throat, as he watched Karai worm her way up to him. His eyes took the liberty of briefly touring along the sinuous curves of her hips and he swallowed. That armor really did look spectacular on her, and boy did she know it.

_It's a trick!_  a tiny, minuscule voice told him, from the deepest recesses of his rational mind.

But how was he supposed to listen to sense when Karai was so close that he could even  _smell_ her; new leather and a natural musk permeated his sinuses, alluringly spicy. It was amazing. He appreciated a woman who didn't mind getting all nasty from a good workout.

"You really wanna know why I only use these techniques on you, Leonardo?" Karai said, just as she was slithering past his languid sword, her voice down an entire octave.

Leonardo did not move a hair's width, fixed like a marble statue as the woman inched her way closer.

He was in such state of shock that he barely perceived how Karai had just whipped out her sword, disarmed him of his remaining niten ryu with a firm swing and sent the weapon flying and jabbing itself on the floor a couple of yards behind him.

He reeled, looking at his sword planted on the other side of the room, then back at Karai. It took him a moment to understand.

"Ta-dah! Cause it always works! I win again!" she exclaimed with triumphant laughter. "I'm so sorry, I couldn't resist!"

Leonardo's entire body tensed. She was so pleased with herself, so perfectly oblivious to the battle waging inside Leo's head, the angry churning of his stomach.

"Now pick up your weapons like a good boy. Lesson's over and I need a shower."

He knew it,  _he knew it_  and was still stupid enough to fall into her trap  _again_. The clamor of fierce thoughts reverberated inside his head. What really angered him was that for a few moments he had believed her. He got his hopes up. He let his guard down.

"Leo?"

Karai had been on her way out, but stopped when she didn't see Leo moving. He was just standing there, and she couldn't be sure if his eyes were closed or just fixed on the rug beneath his feet. His hands, deprived of their weapons, were curled into tight fists and the green knuckles were turning pale. She turned towards him, and flashed a provocative smile.

"You're not mad at me cause I beat you, are you?"

But the incensed look on his eyes when he looked at her gave her pause. His voice was steady and cold when he replied.

"Of course not. I'm very happy your little trick worked out for you."

"Aw, come on. You know I'm just teasing," she joked, but the situation wasn't nearly as funny anymore. Perhaps she had gone a bit too far this time...

"I don't know, Karai. I'm sick of being your toy," Leo said, turning his back on Karai.

"Oh, Leo, don't be like that!" Karai said, getting close to him, reaching to touch him on the shoulder, but he shrugged her hand away.

"You don't get it, do you?"

Karai was startled by that question. How serious he sounded, and how stern. So tense she could see the muscles in his neck twitching.

"You think you can just play this out forever and it's always going to work for you. But guess what: I'm done. I'm not taking another minute of it."

"Leo!"

He didn't respond. He didn't even flinch this time as he set out to pick up his swords from the floor to put them away on the rack, his movements as measured and concise as they'd ever been. The weapons settled on their stand with a couple of soft clinks and he headed for the exit without another look. Karai panicked.

She had to fix this, and fast. It couldn't just end like this.

"Will you listen to me?" she cried, striding after him and yanking on his arm to make him face her. "I didn't mean to upset you. I'm a kunoichi. This is what I do. I didn't know this was so hard on you!"

"Oh, you didn't know?"

"That's right, I didn't!

"I doubt that very much, Karai. I know your kunoichi training makes you very perceptive," he said bitterly.

"I think you are confusing being  _perceptive_  with being a  _telepath_."

"I'm not confusing anything. I'm obviously crystal clear to you. You said it yourself, that's why you'll always use those tricks on me for as long as they work. And meanwhile I feel like I barely really know you. Everything's always uncertain with you, Karai!" He closed his eyes, like it hurt. "Sometimes I get the feeling that nothing about you is true. That it's all an illusion, just like everything you do in here." He motioned at the carpeted floor of the dojo beneath their feet.

"Leo…!" she exclaimed, incredulous. "That's not true! How can you say that?"

She didn't want to believe that's what he thought about her. Did they all think that?

"Why should I believe you? This is what you've always been." Leonardo turned and paced, his back to her. "A game of cat and mouse. Lies and  _traps_."

She took a step forward, in case he thought of getting away again before she could make it right.

"I told you! This is what I am, this is what I've been taught! That doesn't mean…!"

Her words trailed off into silence, and everything became still. Leonardo stood quietly, probably waiting for her to finish. But after a few quiet moments, he shook his head, and then he took off.

"It doesn't make it a lie!" she called after him, wincing. Terrified.

But at least Leo had stopped moving, the tails of his blue bandana coming to a full stop against the groves of his shell. He was listening.

Karai stepped closer.

"I admit I often play, and tease. And maybe I enjoy it a little too much, but… I didn't think it was like this. I thought we were having fun," Karai explained, trying to keep her voice level. She didn't want to give too much away. She couldn't handle that right now. But Leo wanted sincerity, or it was game over. She braced herself, and drew in a shaky breath. "See… it's not all illusion."

The silence that followed was only broken by the occasional burble of sewer pipes and the distant noises of the busy world above, and Karai wondered how in the world silence could feel so loud, her ears buzzing with the sound of her own blood flow and her pulse thumping on her temples.

When Leo finally turned, slowly, she was met with a pair of blue eyes glinting with impish delight and a malicious grin creeping onto his lips.

Karai gawked, unable to keep a straight face.

"Well, well," he said. "A little peek at your true self." His voice was still austere, but laced with a smugness that caught her completely off guard.

He took two steps and before she could react, he had grabbed hold of her arm, pulling her closer until their faces were mere inches apart. She could've twisted his arm and put him in a lock at any time. But she didn't. And his grin spread wider. It had been almost two years since they first met and she had been taller than him back then. But not anymore. Leo's eyes were level with hers, his penetrating gaze catching hers head on.

He leaned in, his tone of voice lowering until it was almost a lion's growl.

"I'd say that deserves a reward," he said with the slightest wiggle of his brow, and Karai felt her entire body stiffen.

What the hell was going on, and why weren't her limbs responding? Karai thought as Leonardo's face kept getting closer and closer to hers. Meanwhile she was fighting her own body, trying to keep her arms limp at her sides, to maintain a straight face as if nothing could ever rattle her. It was a struggle like none she'd ever known.

Leo tightened his grip on her arm then, his eyes so intent on hers that she felt she would be adrift forever in their ocean blue.

And there they stood, motionless, suspended in time, breathing each other's breaths. Karai made a tiny strangled sound in her throat, and she had enough sense left in her that she feared Leo might have been close enough to hear it.

But Leonardo did not waver. He did not back away. And if she hadn't been so transfixed and so boggled she might have been able to see it coming. Because just when she thought she would have to give in—when their bellies were practically touching, and they were but a little tip of the chin away—she felt it.

His hand had moved slowly, sneaking up around her and then with a single, blunt, yank of the handle, Karai's wakizashi went flying through the air.

Karai watched in confusion as her weapon landed with a clang and rolled loudly on the floor until it came to a full stop against the painted paper screens at the far end of the dojo.

"And  _that_ ," Leonardo said, "was  _kyojitsu tenkan-ho_." Then he released her to cross his arms over his chest, and took a step back to admire his work, sneering ruthlessly at her face of shock and confusion.

Karai was still looking back and forth from him to her wakizashi lying at the other side of the room, and back to him.

"Wait wh- How…?" The sounds rolling out of her mouth were hardly words at all, as she visibly struggled to compose herself, and Leo relished every stutter and every jerk of her head. "You tricked me!"

He lifted his chin, malicious pride coursing through his veins, because that mask of strength and temperance she was trying to put on wouldn't work this time, he had felt her arm tense under his grip. And that's how he knew it was all for show. He got to her. There was something very fulfilling about that.

"I can't believe you'd do that!" She looked and sounded bothered for a moment, but then she recovered and her expression changed. Whether it was spontaneous or she was simply putting on her kunoichi face again, Leo couldn't tell. But she looked at him with what seemed to be a smile of content.

"My congratulations, Leo-chan!" she said. "You had me there for a second!" She sniggered that last sentence with an ambiguous laugh that he couldn't interpret.

Although he didn't exactly regret his little trick, deep inside he was also disappointed. And not just in her.

He couldn't say what would have happened if he had taken it one step further; maybe she would have shoved him away, or perhaps she would have sunk into the kiss. This could have been the start of something, or the end of everything. But it didn't matter now, because the moment was gone, thrown across the room along with her sword. If only he would have put aside his plan for revenge, then whatever would have happened he could have at least known.

But now he was as clueless as in the beginning.

Or was he?

_It's not all illusion…_

"It seems you're learning at last!"

Leonardo rose from the tangle of his thoughts and came back to present reality, seeing her smile and borrowing the gesture to use it himself.

"Well, I've had a terrific role model."

She laughed.

"I'm proud of you, my little grasshopper."

"Arigato," he said, bowing, and she returned the gesture with an air of ceremony, then came up to rest her hand on his shoulder.

"I think you've earned the honor of wearing the kunoichi eyeliner," she said like it was nothing but the highest honor she could bestow. He released a throaty chortle.

"I hate to reject your gift, Karai. But I doubt I have the features for it," Leo said, motioning at his green face.

"I wouldn't be so sure," she said, now ogling him with studious eyes, a shit-stirring smile on her face. Leo suppressed the urge to gulp, a renewed feeling of dread wiggling in the pit of his stomach for whatever she had in store for him.

She only gave a merry chuckle, like a jingle.

"Anyways, loser cleans the dojo, so take a broom and put those guns of yours to work."

He reeled, Karai's order arose the proud leader that lived within him, making him forget his composure once more.

"Excuse me?" he said, indignant. "First of all, we never agreed on that, and second of all,  _I won_."

"No, no, Leo. You may have disarmed me last, but I disarmed you  _twice_."

Leonardo smirked with a new found confidence.

"So did I."

Karai's own specialty had been wielded against her, and as soon as the line sunk in, her sardonic grin froze on her face for a split-second. But of course, because this was Karai and she always had the last word, she recovered in record time.

"It seems we're in a bit of a stalemate," she said, arms crossed. Leo mimicked her pose, and pressed his lips for full effect. An unbreachable wall of sheer determination.

"How about a tie breaker?"

Leonardo squinted, but agreed. They faced each other once again and held their right fists up between them.

"Evens," Leonardo said, and Karai nodded her head solemnly. The intensity in their glares could've set the air on fire as their fists shook three times, and then a total of five fingers sprung forth. Karai whooped, victorious once more.

"How do I always lose to this?" Leonardo complained. "It's… it's supposed to be a game of chance! I'm pretty sure you're cheating. Somehow."

"It's all in the wrist," she sniggered, and ambled her way to where her wakizashi lay by the paper screens.

"That doesn't make any sense."

"Stop trying to pass the buck and get to it."

"I'm not-!" Leonardo stopped himself from whining. He sighed, collecting himself. "Fine, I'll do it. You know why? Because unlike you, Karai, I am honorable in my defeat."

A taunting snort was her response.

"Great," she said, tossing him her wakizashi before heading for the exit with an air of conquest. "Then sweep those rugs with honor, Mochi-chan."

An irked groan forced its way from deep within his chest.

_I guess the nickname's sticking,_  he thought cynically as he stepped over to the weapons wall to hang Karai's wakizashi, then to the corner to grab the broom.

"Oh, I almost forgot…"

Leonardo turned at the voice, broomstick in hand, and spotted the kunoichi peeking her head back around the archway with what appeared to be an afterthought. She was holding up a finger as if to say something important, but Leonardo knew better. He waited, one brow raised, for her to make up her mind.

As he had expected, her grin stretched slowly into a sneer.

"Mahp-mahp," she said finally and Leo slumped.

"Wha-! ...you are never going to let me live that down, are you?" he said, cursing the day she had to hear about that from his brothers.

"Never…"

Karai wiggled her fingers much like a vaudevillian vampire as she very slowly backed out of sight, and he couldn't help but grin to himself as he got to work sweeping the dojo.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Remember, reviews are writer chow! :V


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kirby sees you, shipping her daughter with Donnie.  
> He does not super approve.
> 
> And introducing Beatrice the plush bug!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We finally get an emotional close view of April's mind in this one, and you Apriltello lovers are going to like it...
> 
> Also Casey and Raph shenanigans.
> 
> The entire A Ghost of a Chance story is co-written by me and Violette-Aner.  
> A humongous thank you to our beta readers, theHeroComplex and Queequegg!
> 
> Enjoy!

 

"Hey, Raph! Good fight today."

"Shut up," Raph muttered half-heartedly, not even looking up from his magazine. Karai chuckled and marched towards her room just as Casey appeared at the turnstiles. Raph lifted his eyes at the sound, peering over the pages.

"Wow, heavy metal," Casey said, giving Karai a once-over, and Raph rolled his eyes when she acknowledged the compliment with a little curtsy before taking the steps to the bedrooms.

"Yo, Raph!"

"Yo, Case, where ya b- Whoa, what the heck!" Raph exclaimed at the dark purple covering a good portion of his friend's face. "I thought hockey practice was this afternoon!"

"It is! This is from yesterday."

"But wasn't yesterday your date with April?"

"Dude, shhh!" Casey hissed, shooting a few cautious glances around the room. Mikey was sitting against the dojo panes, but he was reading his 'Samurai Jackrabbit' comic book. He was humming along whatever he was listening to on his headphones, one foot wiggling to the beat. Deeming it safe to speak again, Casey leaned to whisper at Raph, "Yeah, it was, but-"

"But you got a little too excited and she beat you up with a shovel?" Raph said, sarcastic. The more he looked, the more bruises he found on Casey's pale skin.

"Dude, what kinda guy you think I am?" Casey said, pointing an accusing finger at him. Raph didn't flinch and kept his sharp gaze nailed on Casey's. The kid faltered. "Okay, I might've gone for her butt-"

"And  _then_ she punched you."

"It wasn't April!"

"Then what the hell happened to you? 'Cause I haven't seen you this jacked up since your little playdate with Hun!"

"Just a few jerks from the street that caught me off guard, we'll get 'em back. But hey, I brought you something!" Casey said quickly, turning around reaching for his backpack.

"Now you're being mysterious?" Raph said sardonically, watching Casey wrestle with the bag, which looked stuffed to near bursting point. The kid yanked hard trying to take whatever was in there out, grunting and puffing, his back to Raph so he couldn't see exactly what it was yet.

"Whatdya got there, a dead body?" Raph asked in an uninterested tone, refusing to let his curiosity show.

A throaty giggle was Casey's sole response and Raph narrowed his eyes in suspicion. When the mysterious object finally came loose, he threw it at Raph's face with a cry of victory.

"For you!"

Raph's quick reflexes took over, and he caught the thing in the air before he even saw what it was. But as soon as he had it in his hands, two beady eyes staring back at him behind the long antennae, Raph gave a shriek loud enough to crack asphalt.

"What  _is_ that! Get it  _off_! Get it  _off_!" he screeched, on the edge of hysteria, throwing the thing as far away as possible while Casey burst into thunderous laughter.

The bug soared through the air and landed with a soft 'poof' against Mikey's shell. His ninja speed rescued it from falling into the water below. One look and a little squeal of delight left his mouth.

"Oooooh my gosh! That is the cutest thing!" Mikey cried as he held the plush creature at arm's length, taking in every detail with bright eyes full of wonder. "Is it yours, Raph?"

"No! Not mine!  _Nobody's_! Burn it!  _Burn it_!" Raphael yelled, backing up when he saw Mikey jumping off the ledge and getting closer with the thing in his arms.

"What are you saying, bro! She's like the prettiest, most adorable bug thing I've ever seen! If you don't want her, I'll keep her!"

"Fine! Anything! Do whatever the hell you want with it, just don't get it near me!" Raph panted, a hand clutching his plastron, but now more disgusted than anything.

Casey writhed on the floor, barely breathing, tears running down his bruised face, and Raph spun around to shoot him a murderous glower.

"You asshole! If you think the beating you got last night was something, wait till  _I_ get a hold of you!" He snatched at Casey's collar, but the boy performed a swift twirl that left him grabbing air instead. Seething, he chased Casey around the common room, screaming bloody murder and making threats that only made Casey's cackles louder.

Mikey watched them for a bit and shrugged, not too impressed by the same fight he had seen dozens of times before. And it was pretty great to see that someone else was the subject of his brother's fury for once. He turned his gaze back down at the soft, pink, crustacean with the bow that seemed to look back up at him like a love-hungry puppy, and he felt his heart melt.

"Aww. I think I'll call you Beatrice!" he said tenderly, and hugged the plush creature to his chest.

* * *

The entrance lock went click and April heaved a sigh of relief in the sudden quiet. She shrugged off her backpack, sore muscles screaming a complaint, and lazily swung it towards the umbrella stand. The next thing she saw was her father in a flowery apron, coming out to the hallway to greet her, one hand holding a greasy spatula.

"Hey, April!"

"Hi, Dad!" she said, snuggling into Kirby's one armed hug. "Missed you."

"Missed you too, honey," Kirby said, kissing her head.

The smell of food reached her nose and she made a pleased sound. "Mmm, what's cooking? I'm starving!"

"Today, something special; spaghetti and meatballs."

"For lunch?"

"It's the Italian way!" he said with a wink, and she chuckled.

"Well, yum! Lemme just take a quick shower, I stink!" she said, and detoured towards the bathroom.

After freshening up, hot water soothing some of the discomfort on her abused joints, she went back to the kitchen to help set the table as Kirby started serving the pasta. Once seated, hair still wet, April noticed Kirby's eyes fixing on her forearms. With a rush of panic, she tried to cover the bruises, but it was too late. Her father motioned towards them with his fork.

"Hey, what happened?"

April bent her arms, giving up on her attempt at hiding them. She hadn't realized just how bruised her arms looked. It hadn't occurred to her to wear long-sleeves and now Kirby's brow was furrowed with concern.

"This? It's just from training," she said dismissively, trying to sound as unfazed as possible. The last thing she needed was for her dad to worry about her training with the turtles.

"Oh. You been with the guys?" he said with a cheerfulness that felt just a tad forced.

"Yep," she replied simply, hoping that would be the end of the conversation.

"Great!"

There was a short pause of barely a few seconds, but it felt to April like an entire period of Trigonometry. Lately she had been avoiding talking too much about the turtles because the topic only seemed to trigger something in him, especially after their little argument. It had been a couple of weeks ago already, but they were both still dealing with the aftershocks -snatched glances and the occasional awkward, guilt-ridden, silence.

"How are they?" Kirby said suddenly, his unusually upbeat tone bringing April back to reality.

"Oh, uh, good. You know, the usual." She shrugged, and as an afterthought to assuage any potential qualms, she added, "Things are pretty quiet lately."

"Mm-hm," Kirby said, nodding his head as he chewed and April listened for any kind of inflection that could give him away. He was disconcertingly chill. Maybe the trip did help...

"Got any plans for the weekend?" he asked, taking a sip of his water.

"I'll have to do a lot of studying, if that counts."

"Okay, but don't overwork yourself. You really have to get out more."

April stopped herself short of shooting him a look.

She actually got out a lot. She was out with the turtles all the time. But she had a feeling that wasn't what her father had meant. It wasn't anything new; he had been reluctant to let her go after dark back once they rescued him from the Kraang, during the short time between one mutation and the next.

_What a great couple of years._

But ever since he got back from Dimension X, he had been increasingly persistent that April hung out more. With kids. From school, maybe. Preferably  _not_ mutants…

She had felt so betrayed, the day he finally said it. She could not believe it, after all the turtles had done for them; knowing what  _she_ was.

Later he had tried to make amends. But the cards had been laid on the table, face up under a spotlight. April had found out what was really on his mind, and it was eating her inside, because she worried. She always worried about her dad's mental health these days, and the idea that her being with the turtles was the source of his anxiety was just too painful to accept. It had been shocking enough for him to learn she was a half-Kraang hybrid.

"Hey, why don't you invite one of your classmates over for a study date?"

April hesitated.

"Actually, Donnie already offered to help, so…"

"Oh, ok," Kirby said rather unassumingly before going back to his meatballs, and April cringed a little.

"Casey and I are both going," she added quickly as a counteractive. He replied with a single nod of affirmation, and she suppressed a sigh, admonished by her father's deceptive calm.

"Donnie says hi, by the way," April said.

She was watching her father intently now, so the quick flick of his eyes at her was easy to catch, before he lowered them back to the plate to continue eating.

"He's a good boy," he said with the faintest of smiles, his expression otherwise unreadable. "Say hi back when you see him. And tell him thanks for the lessons, from me too."

"I will."

As April learned to harness her mutant abilities, it became easier for her to be aware of people's feelings, and trying to hide them from her didn't do much good. She could feel her father's emotions rolling from him like radio broadcasts. They didn't translate into anything precise. But she could tell when he was upset, as if his body language wasn't telling enough. He wasn't lying, she didn't think. Not exactly. But his stinging thoughts had her wondering if he really meant that, or he was just trying to make up for the other day.

April poked the rubbery meatball around a few times before successfully sticking her fork in it. Dad had never been the best cook.

"You know, you should come over more often," she said after swallowing the lump of meat. "You could hang out with Master Splinter. You two have a lot in common."

"Really?" Kirby said with an unconvinced lift of his eyebrow.

April raised her hand and started counting the ways with her fingers. "You were both mutated, you both experienced loss, you're both single fathers…"

She realized that might have been a bit blunt. The recap of Kirby's stumbles in life never did sit well with him, but he hadn't gone through months of therapy for nothing, and it needed to be said. She sensed his discomfort, but a fleeting crease in his brow was his only reaction.

"Yes, I suppose that's true. But aside from that, we're nothing alike."

"My point is, it could be good for you. Maybe he could help you, you know, teach you meditation and stuff," she said, though it was a long shot. Her father may have been a hardcore hippy in his days, but he was still more a man of science in some aspects than even Donatello, and his skepticism towards anything else had only been reinforced over the years. He had a hard time accepting certain things, and Splinter's ancestral form of medicine was a long way from any academic standards. So April was not at all surprised by the non-answer that followed her proposal.

"Okay, I'll think about it!" he said with false enthusiasm. "Besides all that, how are things at school? Meet someone interesting?"

April knew where he was going with that and she wanted none of it right now.

"I'm not going to meet anybody new a month from finals week, dad."

"Guess you're right. Have you thought about what you want to study in college?"

Ah, yes. College. It was only like number twenty-four on the long list of things that worried her right now.

"I haven't made up my mind yet," she said drily, certainly not looking forward to a discussion on the matter.

"Don't you think it's time? Senior year is right around the corner. Next thing you know we have to start sending out applications."

April bit back a groan.

"Yeah, I know," she said with the closest to a normal voice she could manage, grasping for an excuse to change the subject. "But how about you? How was your trip? Did  _you_ meet someone interesting?"

Kirby didn't take kindly to her attempt at evasion, judging from his look, but thankfully didn't insist.

"The other two monitors were nice, I guess, but that's about it. Did you dye your hair?" he exclaimed suddenly.

"Oh!" April said, sheepishly tucking the loose strand of wet hair behind her ear. "Yeah, just a streak. I went with Karai to this hairdresser and she ended up convincing me."

"Wow, I hadn't noticed! Look at you all alternative," he laughed, and April felt relief at the sound.

"It's just a streak," she chuckled.

"Groovy! What else did I miss in the day and a half that I've been gone?"

It had been a harmless, rhetorical question. But she hesitated. And in that split second, he had noticed. Her answer caught in her throat when she saw her father's look of suspicion, his fork held halfway to his lips. A couple of noodles slipped out of the coil and landed on the plate with a slick sound.

"April? Did something happen?"

When she avoided his gaze, helping down the food with a gulp of water, he set the fork down with a quiet clink and interlaced his fingers, one of his psychologist mannerisms that meant "please, go on". It always made her feel like she was being put on the couch. She shrugged noncommittally.

"Not really. I mean, nothing important."

"Whatever it is, I promise you can tell me, April," he said reassuringly, though that little notch in his brow read somewhat differently. It was obvious he was worried about the answer, and April knew why.

For the past couple of weeks, April had been thinking back to what could've given her away. She was always talking about the turtles, but mostly she was always talking about Donnie. She thought her father would be happy to hear all the cool stuff she did in his lab with Donnie all the time. She had practically been his trainee since the very first day that she'd been invited to their lair, as Donnie had always been so keen to teach her.

Being his assistant was an illuminating experience. She enjoyed it. They worked really well together. And she told her dad about every little gadget she'd helped Donnie make, every new project she had contributed to.

And it had likely been all that talk that had lead her dad to jump to certain conclusions, leading him to the day he popped the question.

"Is there something between you and Donatello?" he had asked her, and there had been a hint of dread in his voice that she hadn't anticipated.

Of course, she had denied all of it. The very thought appeared to have quadrupled her father's blood pressure levels in mere seconds. But also because it was the truth.

There  _was_ nothing going on between her and Donnie. Beyond the usual, that is... Sure, there was always the matter of his hopeless crush on her, but he hadn't acted on it in a long time. They were friends. Just friends, with some peculiar luggage behind them.

But despite all her explanations -or perhaps as a result of them- she had been hard put to convince her dad. It was always hard, April knew, to convince someone of something you don't believe yourself.

She couldn't quite say when she'd started feeling this way about him. It must have been a gradual thing. It was a given now, but back then Donatello was still a humanoid mutant turtle with nerdish tendencies who had a gigantic, blatant crush on her. And she never knew quite what to do with that.

Then their relationship became something different, and it was much more than friendship, so much more than a teenage crush. It was trust. Comfort. Love. And recently it had also been… something else.

Back in the dojo… What was that? Donnie had never made her feel that way before. Hell,  _nobody_ had made her feel that way.

_I guess that means I'm finally coming of age..._

And apparently she hadn't made a great job of concealing it.

So when her dad asked if something had happened, she could make a pretty good guess as to what he was expecting her to answer. But her answer today would be something different. She had made sure of that.

"Um, well… I went out with someone. Once. It's nothing serious yet."

"Oh! Someone from school?" he said, and April could hear the latent "hopefully" in his words.

"Yeah, he's from school."

Kirby let out an audible gasp, clearly more excited after that last part."Why didn't you tell me? Well, what's he like?"

She decided not to hedge, and went right to the point."Uh.. it's Casey."

To April's chagrin, her father's smile drooped."Casey? Casey Jones?"

"Yeah, we went to the movies..." she said, trying hard to ignore her own disappointment. "Just… to see how it went. I kinda had a thing for him..."

Kirby let out a humorless laugh."Well, that's not exactly what I meant when I said you should start seeing normal people..."

"But… I thought you'd be glad!"

"Why? That kid skips more school than he attends!"

"But at least he's human, right?" she snapped.

The words had tumbled out of her mouth before she could stop herself, catching her father, and herself, off guard. Now he was giving her a measured look, the food on their plates forgotten.

"April," he started slowly, collectedly. "I'd hate to be one of those parents that constantly nag their daughters about who they can or can't date. I-I'm sorry I got so upset the other day, it's just… And it's not that I don't appreciate the turtles, I do! Especially Donatello-"

The hurt in her father's eyes made April's innards constrict. She averted her eyes when her face started growing hot at the mention of Donatello's name.

"Dad, there's nothing going on between me and Donatello. I already told you."

She was making it true, for him, but Kirby was still visibly skeptical.

"Alright, well, I don't have anything against Casey either. I just… I'd just like you to meet someone you can hang out with without the need for sword fights, or alien monsters or giant mutant snakes... things that won't require you putting your life on the line every time you go out."

"They're not putting my life on the line, dad!" she protested, not quite yelling, but already way past a normal conversational tone. There was only so much she could do to pretend like she was fine, that this didn't affect her.

"I didn't mean it like that!"

"If anything, I'm  _safer_ with them!"

Her father let out another dry chuckle. "I highly doubt that, April. I know they would never do it on purpose, but you can't deny that they are trouble magnets."

She set her jaw. "What do you want? You want me to just stop seeing them?"

"No. I'm not saying that..."

 _But you wish_ , April thought bitterly.

"...just that maybe you should... start thinking about your future, get a career, build a family. You know, lead a normal life. It's all we ever wanted."

April's neck hair stood on end. The last time she had heard that line, she was face to face with the Kraang monster that had impersonated her mother and almost eaten her alive.

"The only problem is that I'm not normal, dad," she said, the images that plagued her mind making her statement all the more true. "I'm never going to  _be_ normal. So why bother? I feel at home with the guys. I'm one of them. And I can take care of myself, I know what I'm doing. Why don't you just trust me?"

"April, it's not that I don't trust- It's… You spend so much time with them. These boys are constantly getting themselves into deadly situation after deadly situation, and... Everytime you go on those so-called missions with them, I'm at home, completely unable to do  _anything_ and worrying that you won't come back! Don't you get it, April? I don't want to go through any of that again, and if anything happens to you, I… You're all I have left, and if you... !"

His breathing came quick and shallow. April had seen this enough times to know what would happen if he kept down that path, and the last thing either of them needed was another panic attack.

She reached out to take his hands in hers, to stop his spasmodic onslaught of words before it escalated further.

"Okay, dad, okay! I'm sorry. I know," she said soothingly, once again cramming all the things she would've liked to say back into the already cramped broom closet of her head, just so her father could have peace of mind -even if it meant swallowing her frustration. "I'm sorry. Calm down. It's okay."

They went through a few breathing exercises, together. Slowly, his breathing started to even out.

"Dad, I get it," she said when he'd calmed down a little. "I know how you feel. But I can't just..." the words died in her mouth. She couldn't bear even the idea of committing to such a thing. She would do anything for her dad, but not this. She couldn't just stop seeing the turtles, she couldn't stop being a kunoichi. She needed it; it was who she was now. Taking away that part of her life would be like yanking off a limb and leaving her to bleed out.

"I… I can't stop seeing them, dad… They're family."

"I know, I'm not a- I can't ask you to! I'm not!" he protested. "Really. I just… I worry. It's okay," he said through a doleful sigh and an attempt at a smile, and straightened up on his chair. "We'll talk about this later, I'm getting a headache. Come on, the meatballs are getting cold..."

April watched her dad pick up the fork and try to work his way through the rest of the dish. She wanted to believe he was telling the truth, that he really wasn't asking her to cut ties with the turtles. But the emotional whirlpool in his head hadn't abated, and it washed pieces of rotting debris onto the shore of her consciousness.

"Okay, dad…" she said, voice thin from a sore windpipe, as if someone had punched her in the throat.

She picked up the fork and forced a cold meatball into her mouth, keeping vigil on her dad through the corner of her eyes. That made three people in two days that she'd hurt in some way. Must be a new record.

Master Splinter was right. She needed to get her  _shit_ together. Or something better sounding anyway…

After clearing up the lunch table, April headed to her room with the excuse that she  _really_ needed to study for this test, which wasn't a lie, but she already feared it would be impossible to concentrate on algebraic formulas after that argument. After thirty minutes of kneeling on the floor with her elbows on her bedspread, trying in vain to infuse some knowledge into her head, she ended up just staring blankly at the pages of her Trigonometry book.

She made one final effort to take in something, anything, before giving up altogether, and concentrated hard on one of the formulas. She recognized it immediately as the formula Donatello had helped her memorize a few weeks ago. All she had to do was conjure up Donnie's voice reciting it out loud and there it was.

She chuckled through her nose at the cosy, prickling sensation the simple memory of his voice elicited her. Suddenly she felt the near-irresistible urge to call him on his T-Phone, and listen to his kind, comforting voice.

Then she remembered it would more likely be rough and scratchy now, thanks to her. But she  _had_ promised to call to ask how he was feeling after all. Better yet, she could invite him over for that study date he had promised.

_Hah. Wouldn't dad love that?_

A smile snuck onto her lips, but it was gone before she even realized it was there.

Maybe her father was right, and maybe it was time she thought about her future.

All this time she had harbored these feelings, feared them, but only now was she really facing them head on. They had rioted out of their confinement the same moment she had been forced to deny them, and now… Now she had to find the way to lure them back into their cages.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, remember to review if you like it! It means a whole lot when you do. TvT


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Raph is a Disney princess, and Casey is bored enough to tell it to his face.
> 
> Also the Future Turtles are being annoyingly cryptic.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We got some nice Casey and Raph tomfoolery in this chapter, as well as a new message from the future, and... Beatrice!
> 
> As always, a humongous thank you to our beta readers, Queequegg and Theherocomplex 3

 

* * *

Casey propped his bike against the brick wall behind the dumpster -just in case- and climbed the ladder to the roof.

Already the foul smell of stale water from the docks filled his nostrils, and even the smell of old sweat in his mask couldn't block it. Once he clambered onto the ledge and hopped down to the roof floor, he slid up his mask to let it rest on his head. The chilly night breeze hit his cheeks as he looked across to the opposite ledge.

A figure sat in the dark, surrounded by a cooing, feathery cloud of pigeons and he grinned in mild astonishment. Raphael's gift with animals never ceased to amaze him.

The pigeons flapped around Raph, a lot of them perched on his shell, or his thighs, or on top of his head, and Casey probably would've thought the turtle was big bird feeder if it wasn't for the text he had gotten from him saying exactly where to find him. Casey watched for a bit as Raph caressed the head of the pigeon currently sitting on his fist, the rest looking up at him like puppies, fighting to see who got to be next.

Casey snickered at the picture of serenity and tenderness from one of the most temperamental people he knew—besides himself—and finally started towards him.

"Whoa, Raph, you're like a beefy, mutant, ninja Snow White."

The flock took wing at Casey's voice approaching, his gear rattling noisily with the movement. Raph shot him a glare through the exploding cloud of fluff flapping away in alarm.

"And you're like the beanstalk giant, you big klutz."

"Sing to them, Raph! Maybe they'll come back," Casey joked. From what he'd seen, who's to say it wouldn't actually work?

"You want a shuriken in the ass, Casey?" Raph warned.

"Is that what you told the huntsman?" Casey teased, knowing he was getting dangerously close to Raph's breaking point, which in actuality was nothing but a motivator.

"Will you shut up? It wasn't even funny on the first try!" Raph groaned, rising to his feet with a clear expression of being done with everything, and Casey instinctively took a couple of steps back.

"Alright, alright, easy," he said between laughs.

"Where were you, man? I'm freezing my ass off here."

Casey approached the ledge, steering clear of the ring of bird poop on the ground around Raph. It was amazing, the way Pigeon Lord managed to stay clean with all those birds on him. "Sorry, yo. I had to take a detour after hockey practice. A couple of our players haven't been showing up and coach wanted us to go look for them at home. You remember Billy?"

"The one you told me about that likes to sniff glue?"

"Yeah, that one." Casey snorted. Every story involving Billy so far had been a promise of priceless entertainment. "Well, he hasn't come to practice for weeks. Coach is all stressed out cuz there's a game coming up and we're one player short."

"Maybe he sniffed a little too much glue," Raph said, his mouth screwed up.

Casey drew up his shoulders, honestly baffled. "Well, no one was home and he's not answering his cellphone. Maybe he's in hospital or something."

"Or maybe he bailed. From what you've told me, he's a real douchebag."

Casey nodded lightly, thinking it was a lot like Billy to disappear before a final exam, or a game. He would probably just show up a couple days from now playing dumb, pretending like his phone got stolen or something.

"Coach is gonna flip his shit."

"I'd offer to cover for Billy, but you know..."

"Yeah, you're hopeless at hockey."

The blatant omission of Raph's non-human condition got a little honest chuckle from the turtle, and the kid smiled, pleased with himself.

"So what do we got so far?" he asked as they both sat down on the ledge, letting their feet dangle precariously over the three story fall.

"Zip. I've been watching the place for anything suspicious, but there hasn't been anything since I got here an hour ago," Raph grumbled, motioning towards the inconspicuous warehouse sitting dark and silent near the lamp-lit docks, among a dozen other warehouses just like it.

"How do you know this is the right place?"

"Because, Casey, while you were out getting it on with April yesterday, I was out here busting my ass making sure we didn't lose their trail."

Casey winced sheepishly.

"Much appreciated…" he said in a small voice.

"Anyway, I followed them here last night, they pulled in a truck and started unloading a bunch of crates, then they left. And then I left. That's it."

"So what do we do now?"

"We wait."

"Aw, man," Casey whined and set his heaviest gear down, psyching himself up to spend at least another hour sitting on the cold rooftop. This ninja stuff could be a real pain in the tailbone sometimes.

Casey had to admire the turtles' endurance in the cold. The clammy, salty air from the bay stuck to their skin and Casey's hoody was soon damp. After sitting still for so long, and despite the turtle's super-human nature -coupled with years of that rough ninja training- a tremor was starting to make its way onto Raph's bare arms. Tiny drops of dew formed on his biceps, which were bunched up like a sailor's knot, looking extremely poke-able. But Casey knew it would take a hell of a lot more than that before Raph resorted to clothing.

After a while in which absolutely nothing happened, a tune made its way into Casey's head, and there was nowhere else for it to go other than out of his mouth. He started humming, and it was only a few seconds before Raph reacted.

"I know you're not singing a princess song, Casey," he said dangerously.

"Sorry, dude, it's stuck in my head for some reason."

"That one's not even from Snow White, it's Cinderella."

"Well, you would know…" Casey said, trying to hold back laughter and doing a piss-poor job of it.

"Can we focus here? I swear, if it starts raining because of you…"

"You saying I'm a bad singer? Are you saying it to my face?" Casey said in mock-defiance, sitting up on his haunches to show Raph his gloved fist.

"If the shoe fits, Casey!" Raph retorted, a devious smile splitting his face.

"That's it, Raph! You just crossed the li-"

"Shh!"

Casey's pounce-ready stance was thrown inwards onto the roof floor by Raph's sledgehammer of an arm as the turtle crouched down behind the ledge, signalling downwards to the silhouette making its way down the road towards the warehouse entrance.

They waited, but the figure reached the entrance and walked right past it to disappear around a corner. Both brothers in arms groaned in disappointment as they sat their butts back down on the cold ledge to wait some more, once again falling into a leaden silence.

For about another twenty minutes the only sounds were of distant police sirens and Casey's heels thumping rhythmically against the brick wall, and even Raph was starting to get a serious case of the wiggles.

"So," Raph said suddenly and Casey turned towards him, only half awake at this point. "How'd it go?"

"Huh?" Casey said in honest confusion.

"Your  _date_ ," Raph specified, pointedly chewing the last word, and Casey's eyebrows twitched. He hadn't really made up his mind yet on how he would describe that date, and was hoping the subject wouldn't come up so soon. Wishful thinking...

"Oh! Uhh, good. It was good," he said, avoiding Raph's eyes, and he scratched his ear a little pointlessly with his thick hockey mitts.

"Good, huh?" Raph drawled.

Casey realized that "good" had sounded a lot like "so-so", but he wasn't sure why there had to be so much satisfaction on Raph's stupid face.

"Yeah, we watched a movie, won the bug plush at the arcade, had a couple hot dogs… Date stuff, you know?"

"Not really," Raph said curtly, but his voice was tinted with mild amusement.

"Aww, you'll get your chance, Raph. I hear you're very popular with the lady birds," Casey jested, at the risk of getting his brain encrusted with his own nasal bones—which, judging by the murderous glower on Raph's face, was a probability. But that didn't stop Casey from breaking into a new fit of cackles.

It wasn't as funny when Raph recovered for his counter-attack.

"So does this mean you and April are a thing now?" he said, and Casey's laughter slowly trailed off into a nervous giggle as he struggled to keep his smile on his face.

"Wha- a thing like what?" he hedged.

"Is she your girlfriend or something, man!" Raph spat, a bark Casey would say was halfway between entertained and annoyed.

"Pfft, come on, dude! It was our first date! I didn't even get to cop a proper feel—or I kinda did. Well, I tried. It's just a matter of time," Casey said in an air of self-sufficiency, or what was meant to pass for such. "We're pretty much set for a second date already."

Raph gave him an unimpressed roll of his eyes.

"Great."

"Oh, just— Remember not to tell anyone until I say, okay?" Casey plead, forgetting to sound confident, and got a humorless grunt from Raph as sole confirmation before they both went silent again.

And for a bit they sat quietly, listening to the water lapping softly at the wooden docks. A huge ocean liner floated past, moving at a near glacial pace. By the time it was gone and the opposite bank was visible again, Raph's eyes were closed. He almost looked like he was meditating or something. Casey gave an impatient sigh and tipped his head back, neck issuing a muted crack, and then to the sides as he looked around him for any source of entertainment. If he'd been waiting for the bus, his phone would be out by now, but the turtles had a strict rule of no playing on one's phone while out on surveillance. And he didn't want to tempt fate, being this close to the water and knowing Raph's propensity towards flinging the objects that annoyed him.

So naturally it was only a matter of time before the tune inadvertently creeped into Casey's mind, persistent and sticky. The song fell from his brain and onto the back of his tongue and suddenly he was humming it again before he'd even registered that he was.  _Cinderella_.

"Alright, that's it!" Raph exclaimed and Casey sprung backwards in a survival reflex, choking on the song and convinced that he was about to receive the beating of his life. However the turtle only trampled past him over to the fire escape. "We're goin' in!" he said.

"Finally!" Casey cried, sliding his hockey mask back down to cover his face.

"'Cause if I have to hear you sing Disney one more time, I'm going to have to slam your remaining teeth against the wall."

"Geez, Raph. When will you love me the way you love your pigeons?"

Raph granted him a hammerfist on the top of the head before clambering down the ladder.

* * *

Leonardo tapped his T-Phone twice, and the device emitted a lazy  _bop_ as the chat closed. He stretched to set it down on his floor desk before getting up from the cushion, minding the inkwell. Donnie and April had added him to their conversation and he'd been loosely following it as he practiced his calligraphy until April decided to call it a night. It had been a casual chat about school and TV shows, because they still hadn't told anybody about future Donatello—although Leo knew Donnie was dying to. But he and Donnie had agreed to wait until they knew a little more.

It was a bit before midnight, and Leo deemed this the perfect time to take a break and make himself a bedtime cup of rooibos with valerian for a good night's sleep. The lair was eerily quiet when Raph wasn't around, and so far he hadn't seen or heard Mikey anywhere either. Judging by the light coming from the kitchen, he was probably stuffing his face.

On his way there he caught an unfamiliar shape through the corner of his eye lurking among the pillows, and in a split-second felt the tingling of adrenaline already coursing through his veins. His body was ready for a fight before he even knew why.

But a closer look verified that this thing was not a threat. Whatever it was... Pink and soft-looking, yet definitely not a pillow.

"What the…"

Leo approached the doll and poked it gently with his toe. It didn't look alive, which was something.

"Donnie? Can you come here a moment?"

He heard the soft padding of Donatello's bandaged feet through the lab, and a moment later Donatello himself slid out into the common room holding a steaming mug of coffee and wearing a curious frown. When Leo beckoned him forward he stepped closer to look at whatever had preoccupied Leo.

"What's up?"

" _That's_  up," Leonardo said, pointing at the doll. "Is it safe?"

Donnie approached the thing, brow furrowed in concentration. He gasped, "By Darwin's beard!" and Leo started, surprised by the alarm in his brother's voice.

"What? What is it?" he asked.

"I-I've never encountered anything like this!"

"What?" Leo insisted.

Donnie's voice changed, and Leo watched one corner of his lips tugging upwards ever so slightly.

"It's the ugliest doll I've ever seen," Donnie said, and turned towards Leo, eyes narrowed in a look of derision. "Seriously, this is what you call me for? Come on." He motioned a weary hand at the thing.

Leo shot him an offended glare, annoyed by the unnecessary sass.

"I'm just saying," he explained. "Maybe it's a trap, you know, a bomb or something. We've had weirder things happen to us."

"It's nothing like that, the sensors would've picked it up. It's safe," Donnie assured with a dismissive wave of his hand. Setting the mug aside, he knelt before the couch to get a closer look.

Leo grunted, unconvinced, still watching the thing from a safe distance.

"It's got a bow on it. I don't trust it," he said dramatically, and Donnie replied with an amused chuckle.

"So what is it? It looks like something from Dimension X," Leonardo continued, frowning as Donatello picked it up and turned it around to inspect its belly rimmed with legs.

"It looks like a giant isopod."

"A what?"

"A type of marine crustacean. You know, like a crab, or a prawn."

"Next you'll be telling me people eat these things…"

"This? This is a fake, Leo, you can't eat it. It's made of plush fabric and pillow filling," Donnie deadpanned.

"Wow, hilarious, Donnie. I meant the real ones!" Leo grumbled in mild annoyance and Donnie released a devious snigger.

"Don't get your shell in a twist, Leo, I was kidding," Donnie said, softly patting Leo's leg before standing up with the creature in his hands. The thing was the size of a four-year-old. "I've never heard of people eating these guys, but I wouldn't bet my life on it."

"That is gross," Leo said wrinkling his nose, and yet he couldn't help stretch out a hand to touch it. "Smooth, though."

"Yeah, it's kind of adorable, when you look at it. In its own weird way," Donnie said, giving the big white bow a gentle flick. "Looks huggable…"

Leo's nose wrinkled in disgust. Sure, Donnie would think that; he also liked getting snuggly with his trained spy-roaches and rubbing them on his face.

"Not sure I would go so far," Leo said.

Donatello shrugged, and taking a last once-over at the hideous toy, he brought it to his plastron and squeezed gently.

"How does it feel?" Leo asked, one edge of his mouth quirking upwards at the smile of comfort that had slowly made its way into his brother's expression.

"It's kinda nice. Wanna try?" Donnie offered holding out the isopod, its multiple tiny feet dangling from its bottom. Leonardo pressed his lips hesitantly, but curiosity got the best of him and he ended up taking the hideous thing. Cautiously he held it in his arms and embraced it. The flat belly settled nicely against his plastron and the little legs tickled his sides.

"Not bad," he admitted. "But why would anyone make a giant plush bug? And then put a stupid bow on it?"

Donatello took the bug from Leo and turned it over with a look of concentration. He released a little cry of triumph—the tag was sown near its tail, and Donnie was pulling on it with his fingers.

"Ah-hah! Just as I suspected!" He showed Leo the kanji printed on the tag. "It's made in Japan. Everything makes sense now."

"Oh, man," Leo laughed. "I should've known."

"Well, we know where it's  _from_. But who brought—"

"Beatrice!"

The two brothers turned their heads at Mikey's cry, watching their other brother come running from the kitchen to yank the toy from Donatello's grip.

"What are you doing with Beatrice?" Mikey said, fussing over the thing as if he feared Donnie might have been conducting one of his weird experiments on it.

"Beatrice?" the two dumbstruck turtles said in unison.

"My new pet bug! She was a gift from Raph," Mikey explained once he'd made his thorough inspection of the doll to ensure that she was unharmed, his smile taking over most of his face.

Leo exchanged a look with Donnie.  _Of course: Mikey._  Although he seriously doubted Raph of all people had done such a thing, and for more than one reason.

"And it's a girl," Donnie said in a tender tone of voice, as though gazing down on a new-born child.

Leo scoffed.

"Well, no question there."

"Whoa, whoa!" Mikey exclaimed suddenly, looking offended. "What are you saying, that it's wearing a bow so it's gotta be a girl? You saying boy bugs can't wear bows?"

"Ok, alright! So it's a boy bug named Beatrice?" Leo said, honestly at a loss.

"No! It's a girl!"

"But you said—"

"It's a girl because it's a girl! But not because she's wearing a bow!"

"You gotta admire his nonconformity with social standards," Donnie said with a smile and his arms crossed, as though Mikey was five and riding his bike without training wheels for the first time. Leo agreed to that with a nod.

"So what's she doing  _here_?" he asked, already exhausted with the conversation.

"We were gonna watch Crognard. I left her here to go get us some cheese balls—and Ice Cream Kitty, of course."

Mikey flicked open the cooler he was carrying and they were greeted by Ice Cream Kitty's happy mewl and bright eyes.

"I see. Well, you and Beatrice and Ice Cream Kitty have fun," Leo said, ready to leave,

"Thanks! We will," Mikey said cheerfully, slumping onto the cushions with one arm around Beatrice and the other one around the open cooler. Donnie shook his head around a little chuckle as he leaned to pick up his mug.

About to say goodnight to his other brother as well, Leo stopped mid breath when he heard Donnie's T-Phone chime in a new message. As soon as Donnie took it out to look at the name, he directed a significant glance at Leo.

"It's him," he mouthed, and Leo's heart did a flip. With one last covert glance at Mikey, who looked too absorbed by the things now on screen, they both started towards the lab, and they left their little brother to enjoy the show alone with his two girlfriends.

* * *

Donnie and Leo rushed in the lab towards the computer desk, closing the doors behind them so they wouldn't be disturbed, and Crognard's war cries faded to a distant mutter. Donnie strode over to the desk, pressed a key and the screen came to life with the chat window in plain view.

_**Duzmachines:**_   _Donatello? You there?_

Donnie's fingers flew over the keyboard. It had only been a day since they last made contact—which was  _great_. He'd been afraid they wouldn't hear from them in a while, and the uncertainty was killing him.

_**Allofdisnbrainz:** _ _I'm here! With Leo! We have so many questions!_

In the pause that followed, both Donnie and Leo could hardly sit still, leaning in closer as if they needed to hear what the chat was saying.

"I hope they don't mind being asked some questions. I made a list, as you suggested," Leo said, holding up a paper with twelve-or-so entries.

"Me too!" Donnie squeaked excitedly, holding up his own list. He looked down at their papers, the scribbles occupying most of their surfaces. "We may not have time to ask them all this, though, so I hope you organized them by priority."

"Of course," Leo said, as if that was even a question after Donnie had been so insistent.

The computer pinged, and Donnie gave an exclamation, his hand making wild gesticulations.

"Oh!" he gasped. And then he frowned, a little taken aback by the download bar that had suddenly appeared, overlapping the chat.

"What is that?" Leo asked impatiently.

"It's downloading something."

"I hope it's not a movie torrent or anything, Donnie, because now's not the time."

"It wasn't me!" Donnie griped. "It's them! They're sending us something."

Leo looked confused.

"What the heck could they be sending us? Why aren't they  _talking_ to us?"

Donnie leaned over the keyboard adopting a business position and dragged a few files that had already been sent to an appropriate image viewer. He thought maybe he might have needed to convert them to something he could open with his current custom computer's programs, but it seemed future Donatello had already taken care of it. The files opened with no further troubles and Donnie gawked at the contents—entire pages of all numbers and letters and very neat, but very complex drawings.

"They're… blueprints!" Donnie said, scrolling through the files, ecstatic. "For a portal! Future Donatello needs me to build the portal that they're going to use to get through to our universe! Man, these designs are so ingenious," he said with a hint of pride in his voice. "It would've taken me  _ages_ to figure this all out. And it probably did; obviously I-  _he_ spent a lot of time trying to come up with a way." A soft chuckle of admiration escaped his throat. There was still so much to learn and that pleased him.

"I thought they were gonna use a wormhole."

"Wormholes can be tiny, like the head of a pin," Donatello explained, pretending to hold something of that size between his thumb and forefinger. "The portal will force it open so that it's man-sized, kinda like a speculum."

"If that's what I think it is, ew," Leo said, holding up his hands at Donnie. "But seriously, can't you try to talk to them?"

"I did try, but they're not answering," Donnie said thoughtfully, glancing at the download bar. "It could be that the download is using up all the bandwidth. Maybe when it's done…" The speakers gave a beep then. "Oh. It's done!"

"And?" Leo demanded. Donatello couldn't blame him; the suspense was killing him too. But all that suspense died abruptly when the chat icon turned gray.

"Huh. Connection's lost. But look at this!"

Donnie's disappointment couldn't last for long. Not when there were so many beautiful blueprints to study and put into practice!

"Lost? What- But… That's it?" Donnie heard Leo say beside him. But he could barely bring himself to pay any attention and he continued to ravage the blueprints, even as Leo's head flicked back and forth between him and the screen. These were just too  _fascinating_.

"Oh, man… this is brilliant! Remind me to compliment myself when I see me!"

"Pssh. What a rip-off."

At the words, Donatello turned to shoot Leo a look of offense.

" _Rip-off?_ " he barked in incredulity, and rolled his eyes. "You uncultured nincompoop," he murmured, ignoring Leo's resulting face of indignation as he was too busy scrolling through the pages upon pages of instructions which were making him a giddy, rambling, mess, almost missing Leonardo's next words.

"Anyway, maybe I should leave you and your…  _things_ alone for a few moments," his brother said, and the little part of Donnie that caught the disappointment in his voice made him turn to see him pick up his list of unanswered questions with a frustrated swipe and head for the door. He thought about saying something reassuring, but a new ping beat him to it.

When he saw a new message in the chat, he jumped with renewed excitement.

"Oh- Leo! They're back!"

Leonardo was back at his shoulder before he could finish his sentence, leaning in close to the screen beyond the recommended distance to read the words.

"What are they saying?"

Donnie read out loud.

_**Duzmachines:**_   _Hey. Sorry for the early disconnect, but we think it's best if we talk as little as possible unless it's imperative that you know something._

_Turns out there_ is  _something you should know. Nothing too serious._

_But keep an eye out for a Chinese red pendant. If you find one, make sure it's safe._

Donnie turned to look at Leo, wondering if he would know something about that, but he was met by the same questioning look he had. He turned back to the screen to type a question he knew was in both their minds.

_**Allofdisnbrainz:**_   _Safe how? Is it dangerous? Is someone looking for it?_

_**Duzmachines:** _ _Maybe. Keep an eye out, that's all._

_**Allofdisnbrainz:** _ _Anything else?_

_**Duzmachines:** _ _Not right now._

Now genuinely suspicious of their lack of comment, Donnie actually finished typing the words "are you sure?" before he was interrupted by another message.

_**Duzmachines:** _ _We'll contact you in three days to give you the time and coordinates. I'm pretty sure you don't need the incentive... but it would be advisable that the portal be finished by then._

_Oh, yeah: tell Karai not to go anywhere, at least until we get there._

Donnie and Leo exchanged another look, then Donnie rushed in to delete the previous words and type the next question before they could leave them hanging again.

_**Allofdisnbrainz:** _ _Why?_

_**Duzmachines:** _ _Just in case. Just making sure she's there too when we arrive. Wouldn't want her to miss it. Meanwhile get everyone up to speed as well!_

_Talk in a few days._

_Over and out!_

"Uh-" Donnie croaked, hands reaching out towards the screen as if that could keep them from leaving again. The last few messages had come in such quick succession that Donnie couldn't type a reply fast enough before the signal was lost again.

Surprisingly, this short conversation had produced many more questions than it had answered.

"Karai? What's up with Karai?" Leonardo demanded, as if he trusted Donnie to know something.  _Anything_. But all Donnie could do was shake his head in bewilderment.

"I have no idea," he said, cold concern pooling at the pit of his stomach.

"And what's this thing about a Chinese pendant? Where would this Chinese pendant even come from?"

"I guess we'll just have to… keep an eye out."

They both stared at the words left there by their future selves, who seemed to be going out of their way to leave them confused and worried. Leonardo's voice was small and tentative when he finally spoke.

"Do you think something happens to Karai?"

Donnie tried to suppress the brief little furrow on his brow, but judging by the look his brother was giving him, his concern hadn't been lost on him. Donnie quickly adopted a lighter, more carefree expression.

"Nah. It could be anything, Leo. They would've said something else if it was serious, they would want to make sure," he told him reassuringly, hoping it was as true as he had actually made it sound. It had to be. Why wouldn't they want to tell them if it was something really bad, if only to make sure they did everything they could to prevent it? The thought put his mind a bit more at ease.

"I suppose you're right," Leo conceded, but the fog hadn't completely lifted from his eyes.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Remember! Reviews are writer chow! :D


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Raph and Casey, battle couple. 
> 
> The Lotus Clan enters the scene.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Omagash we got more plot developmente here, guys! Something's cookin'...
> 
> Action and lots of Rasey bromance.
> 
> And remember that ninja clan from the first chapter? Here's a short recap of the main Lotus characters:
> 
> Hachisu-no-Hana, the kashira.
> 
> Jiro, the old master.
> 
> Iwao, the veteran.
> 
> Atsuko, the fox.
> 
> Wakai, the eager one.

 

* * *

Anyone watching the street would probably not have been able to tell at first glance what those two figures crossing the pavement were. They would not have known whether to call the police, Animal Control or the Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense, because neither of the silhouettes appeared all that human. One bulky and green with a big, smooth, hairless head, the other with a white cadaverous face and long, stiff appendages jutting out in all directions that made him look like a four-armed stalking man-spider in the distance.

Hopefully, thought Raph, this part of town was as empty as it looked and nobody was there to see them as they stealthily made their way towards the dark warehouse.

That is, as stealthily as Casey's heavy gear would allow. Raph scowled when they pushed themselves flat against the wall in shadows and the hockey sticks clanked noisily against each other yet again.

Casey  _was_ getting a little better at it after a couple years of patrolling the streets with him and his brothers, but stealth missions were still definitely not his forte. With luck this mission wouldn't require much finesse, - just go in, find out what the Purple Dragons have been up to lately, and leave.

Raph was at the vanguard, looking out for any surveillance cameras as they moved close to the wall. They made it to the garage doors, where Raph had seen the Purple Dragons unload the mysterious crates last night. Each had a big tough lock as was to be expected, but that had never been a challenge for Raph. Crouched on the ground, he produced a lockpick from his belt and began to expertly pick the keyhole under Casey's fascinated eye.

"Yo, Raph, you gotta teach me how to do that," he whispered eagerly, and Raph briefly took his eyes off his task to send him a dubious sideways glance. "What? I would use it for the greater good, man!"

"Never doubt it," Raph replied with a crooked smile.

"Damn right!"

"Aren't you supposed to be keeping watch?"

Casey mumbled something and he turned away to the desolate street, tapping his foot. It wasn't long before the satisfying  _click_ that announced Raph's victory against the lock.

They pulled the garage door up enough to take a peek through. After checking it was safe and there was nothing in sight but darkness, they went in.

Inevitably the metal door clanked noisily as they rolled it back down, resounding through the cavernous room. Raph made them wait until the echo had died to make sure, and when everything was quiet again they took out their flashlights and shone them around.

Everything seemed pretty harmless at first glance. The vast open space was packed with rows and rows of cardboard boxes and wooden crates, some of them stacked as high as the upstairs catwalk, all labeled with Chinese hanzis that meant nothing to either of them. There could be anything in these containers. And there were literally hundreds of them, each one looking just as innocuous or suspicious as the next.

Raph let out a long heavy sigh. "This'll take a while."

"We don't have to…?"

"Look in every one of them? Yes." Raph walked over to the nearest pile.

"All of them?" Casey exclaimed with an agonized groan.

"Until we find something suspicious."

"Dude, have you seen the size of this place? We could be here for hours! Why don't you ever take me anywhere nice?"

"Come on, Casey, stop being a whiny little baby and get started over there!" Raph grumbled, signalling towards the opposite row as he picked up a crowbar and pried open the first crate.

Casey huffed, but picked up another crowbar and got to work on his aisle. One by one, the lids came off, but there was nothing inside the crates that could be deemed dangerous or shifty -or, maybe it was all shifty, but in a whole different sense. "Darbie" dolls, misshapen Spiderman figures, brand imitation clothing, and all sorts of office supplies and kitchen utensils made in China. By the looks of it, the Purple Dragons were running an import business of the highest caliber, and going by the sheer size of the place, they seemed to be providing for every convenience store around the city. Raph would bet his sais they weren't doing it in the most honorable or law-abiding of ways either.

"Damn, this place is full of crap," he said, opening the twentieth crate and shining his flashlight on the packaging to find dozens of some kind of little girl's purses with the face of a cheerful looking kitten on every one of them. "The hell- 'Hola Gato'?" Raph pronounced in awful Spanish. "This stuff is terrible!"

"This stuff is great!" Casey contradicted, already sounding much happier about the task commended to him. "The place is a gold mine!" he exclaimed, excitedly opening another crate to see what else he could find.

"A crap mine, more like." Raph laughed, but couldn't help wonder which of the color variations of the purse Mikey would like more.

"No way!" Casey cried, holding up a pair of jeans. "Raph, look! Brand new Levis! And I think they're my size!"

"And  _I_  think that says 'Lewis', Casey…"

"So? You can barely tell the difference." The sound of a zipper told Raph that Casey hadn't wasted any time taking off his pants to try the new pair on and he rolled his eyes as he turned to the next crate. He could hear Casey grunt behind him, struggling with his pants - he was trying to take them off over his Converse, the oaf- as Raph cranked open the crate. He hadn't noticed the faint greenish glow seeping from the cracks in the wood. When the lid came off with a crack, the light spilled out, flooding his field of vision.

"Whoa!" he cried, and heard the zipper again behind him, followed by the quick tapping of soles on concrete, and a moment later Casey was by his side, fake Levis still in his hand.

"What? What'd ya find?"

Raph greeted Casey with one glowing canister held aloft, its viscous light chiseling the kid's already strong features into a macabre mask, irises glowing a radioactive green.

"Mutagen." Raph spoke the word like a bad omen.

"What?" Casey said, taking the canister to make sure, draping the 'Lewis' jeans over his shoulder. "But… I thought you guys said all the mutagen was gone! I thought we were done with all this alien shit! Does this mean the Kraang are back?" he hissed once he confirmed that the entire crate was full of the stuff.

But Raph shook his head, brow knitted in thought.

"Not necessarily. The city cleaned up the mutagen that was left. Donnie used the last he had making Karai her retromutagen and we haven't been able to find any more since." He knelt to point his flashlight at the crate's label, then moved around the surrounding crates, inspecting them. "I'm guessing the government had it stored somewhere and the Purple Dragons managed to somehow get their mitts on it."

He grabbed the crowbar and cracked open another crate with a similar-looking label to confirm it was also full of canisters. The tall walls of containers on either side were illuminated by the open wells of light, like gates to the underworld. He couldn't really tell how much of it was in this warehouse, or what the Purple Dragons would want it for. Either way it certainly wasn't good news.

"We gotta tell-"

Casey's words were cut short by the sudden clatter of the garage door opening, followed by a few voices. Three silhouettes came into view, backlit by a pair of headlights.

"Damn cheap lock! We'll have to get a new one."

"Told you we shouldn't have used one of our own…"

"Leave that for later. Let's get the boss what he wants."

There was nowhere to hide among the tightly packed rows of crates. With a loud crack, the entire place was flooded in blinding fluorescent light, leaving Raph and Casey exposed, and in plain sight of the three figures standing between them and the exit. Staying still as mannequins didn't help and their old friend Fong, accompanied by his usual cohorts, Tsoi and Sid, froze in place, eyes wide in surprise.

"Hey! Put those jeans back!" Fong said, pointing a menacing finger at Casey.

Raph saw his friend sneer for a moment before the mask came down to hide his face, hockey stick now gripped tightly in his gloved fists.

Casey dumped the jeans on the ground, and kicked them away dismissively. His eyes lit up with wicked delight at Fong's reaction to the gesture, a snarl forming on the crook's lips as he readied his butcher knife.

Fong yelled in Chinese something Casey didn't understand. But a moment later an entire gang of men appeared through the garage doors to join them. Ten additional men now stood behind the trio, wielding anything from chains to crowbars and knives. But neither Raph nor Casey would've been the least bit intimidated if they had been three times as many. Some were even confident enough to use their own fists.

Adorable…

The rookies that formed most of the Purple Dragons' forces were at this point little more than warm-up for the pair of vigilantes, but these guys never seemed to get the message…

"Oh, yeah. Tonight's gonna be fun after all," Casey said with satisfaction, voice muffled by his mask as Raph whipped out his own weapons. He spun the sais, as though shaking them awake.

Raph and Casey looked at each other and shared a sneer. Then, with a single nod, they lunged forward.

At Fong's command, the small army of men ran at them, yelling, and Raph threw a couple of smoke bombs at the stampede of men. The pack was enveloped in a wall of smoke, stopping them in their tracks and scattering them. Raph might as well have wrapped them up for Casey and put a bow on them.

"Stay clear of the mutagen!" Raph warned.

"Right!"

The kid dashed through the already dissipating fog toward the disoriented Purple Dragons, tripping dudes to the floor with his hockey stick and hearing the satisfying grunts and yelps of surprise. But before he could make it through the crowd, one hand flew in out of nowhere and grabbed him by the hood. The momentum made Casey's feet lift off the ground as his torso fell with a dry thud. He gasped, and rolled away just in time to avoid getting hit by Tsoi's sledgehammer. A kick in the dude's shin had him on his knees and gave Casey time to get back up onto his feet and whack another attacker on the face while he was on it.

As he skated away back across another group of bad guys -most of which ended up on the floor- he crossed paths with Raph.

The turtle was charging at full speed. Casey saw him jump, wall kick himself off a pile of crates. He landed a kick on a thug's ear before landing on another one's shoulders, the weight of his bulk making the guy's knees buckle as Raph bounced off to tackle a third to the ground, knocking him out with one punch.

Raph roared his triumph, his hand meeting Casey's in a smack that resounded even over the tumult as they each picked their next target.

Casey only wished these idiots could see the sneer underneath his mask, his agitated breath blowing puffs of moisture over his own face. But it was exhilarating, standing here, shoulder to shoulder with his best friend, his partner. Nothing could top this. Combined they were like a cold front and a hot front colliding to make a cyclone of blunt force trauma.

Already a few of the thugs that were still standing looked like they were seriously considering calling it a night and running off home to hide under their mammas' skirts rather than trying to fight these two forces of nature. Those poor noobs were easiest to take down. Petrified, they barely put up resistance as Casey gave them each a quick taste of his sticks.

"Stage fright, buddy?" he said as he whacked one of them upside the head before turning to the other one. "You too? This'll help you relax! Ask your friend!" He held up his stick as though offering it to the man and the man shook from head to toe. But he still ran at Casey with a shrieking roar, pipe raised high. He swung, but Casey skated out of the way and the pipe hit another thug in the nose. He didn't stop there, chasing Casey around, wildly flinging the metallic pipe until someone else caught it in one hand.

"You worthless piece of-" Fong yelled and yanked the pipe from the other's hands to hit him with it. The distraction was enough for Casey to drop back in and a moment later Fong was landing butt-first -and noisily- into a box full of squeaky rubber ducks.

"Raph! Please, tell me you saw that!" Casey guffawed.

"Heard it! Wasn't looking though!" Raph cried as he blocked a blow from Tsoi's sledgehammer and returned the favor with a blow to the face. "You're gonna have to do it again!"

"With pleasure!" Casey said, repeating the move on Sid. The big oaf fell on top of Fong, who had been trying to get up from the pile of toys, the impact producing a chorus of deafening squeaks.

Now Raph joined Casey in his laughter. But the celebration did not last, as out of nowhere another Purple Dragon, taking advantage of the distraction, came at Raphael with his two-handed iron flail.

Casey didn't have time to warn him.

The heavy ball struck Raph's plastron with a crack, the impact propelling him backwards. Casey watched, wide-eyed, as the turtle's shell slammed into a wooden crate that burst into splinters, scattering the contents on the ground -in this case, bags of mochi.

"Raph!" Casey yelled and ran to his aid, but another Purple Dragon was in his way, already sporting a gash on the cheek. The poor guy was desperately flapping a butterfly knife at him. Deflecting a swing, Casey whacked the man on his wrist, the weapon falling out of his hand. Casey shoved his stick into the other's chest and used it to pin him against the crates. He turned his head, eyes searching for Raph. "You okay, man?"

"Sure," Raph gritted out with a wince of pain, heaving himself up off the pile of ripped bags. Luckily most of the enemies were already down -not to mention terrified of even coming close to the mutant- and he had time to shake off some of the food that had stuck to his lower shell before Guy With Flail was back.

Casey slammed a knee into his goon's crotch that left him slowly sliding to the ground with a prolonged wail of pain, as Casey ran over to assist Raph. But by the time he got there, Raph had already carried out his revenge, the brute lying face down on the ground like a log.

"Whoa!" Casey exclaimed, stepping over the dude's motionless form and picking up the weapon he had dropped. "Miniature demolition ball! I think I might keep it!"

"Look out!" Raph yelled, and threw a bag of frozen dim sum that flew right by Casey's ear. A split-second later he heard the impact behind him and a cry of surprise. It was Fong, who had  _almost_ caught them off their guard.

"Good throw, Raph!" shouted Casey, suddenly feeling like trying it out himself and so he picked up the first thing he found from another crate, a foldable beach chair, and threw it at the few men regrouping a little further down the aisle. The chair sprung open on impact and three men ended up sprawled on the ground as if a grenade had gone off between them.

"Hah!" Casey exclaimed, performing a victory fist pump.

Seeing the good results that this new tactic offered, both Raph and Casey started yanking various objects from the open crates and flinging them mercilessly at their adversaries. What had begun as your regular street fight had become a school lunchroom battle royal, with whole pre-cooked chickens, tubes of Chee-Z balls and cross-eyed dolls flying in all directions.

Before long, the group of goons had been decimated to just a few remaining masochists -because there was no other explanation for their persistence. Fong barely had any men left standing as one by one they had either fallen under the shower of once-vendibles or run away. But apparently he still had enough fight left in him to rise, in the middle of the battle field, and scream at the top of his lungs, "Stop ruining our merchandise!"

His defiant shriek earned him a basketball to the mouth. Fong's cry of pain was music to Casey's ears, and he guffawed jubilantly as the criminal scum made a shaking attempt to pick himself up off the floor while rubbing his bleeding nose. To one side, Raph was just finishing off the last of the hoodlums. Only one more left to go and then they could tie them all up in a big bunch while they and the rest of the turtles took the mutagen to a safe place.

So before Fong could get to his feet again, Casey was there, stick raised overhead and ready to swing until a shadow caught his eye.

Casey froze, watching the new silhouette slither into view, stage left. Like the image of a god come to Earth the figure paused at the entrance, dramatically lit against the truck's lights, before stepping inside into the well-lit space.

Hun stood there, nostrils flaring and sunglasses glinting menacingly, scanning the scene. One shout - _what is going on in here!_ \- and Fong scrambled away from Casey to welcome his boss, while all Casey could do was stare. Struck dumb, frozen in place, and covered in stray packing peanuts and cheese balls.

"You again," Hun said, his voice cold but his eyes ablaze.

Hun pulled his spiked brass knuckles from his back pockets and very slowly, very ceremoniously, slipped them on, flashing them with one of his shrill kung-fu battle shouts that made Casey's hairs stand on end. But not because he was scared. No, it was anticipation. He'd been craving for another chance at this for months and this was the moment of his revenge. Together with Raph they would finally-

"Casey, don't you dare!"

Casey spun around and spotted the warning glower in Raph's green eyes. He hadn't noticed him back there.

"I know what you're thinking," the turtle insisted, pointing his sai at Casey's head. "Don't. We're getting out of here."

"What?! Raph, this is our chance!"

"Our chance to be part of Hun's stamp collection?" Raphael gritted out, voice sharp with impatience.

Hun's shout had worked like a summoning spell for the dead, and the Purple Dragons that had been littering the floor -at least the ones who were conscious- started getting up and joining their boss. Some were limping, a few of them rubbing their aching bodies, but all of them revived with new confidence as they all stood by their leader, between the intruders and the exit.

This all just gave Casey a moment's pause as the rational part of his brain rebelled -the tiny, wuss puss kid nobody ever listened to. Now wasn't any different. Hun was the stain on Casey's pride, and Casey had won seemingly hopeless games before.

"Raph, you with me or not?"

"I'm with ya, Case! That's why you're not fighting Hun!"

Casey growled in frustration and poised himself for combat, facing down his already advancing enemy.

"Fine! I'll take him down myself!"

"Don't make me carry you, Casey! I'm warning you!"

Casey scoffed, getting ready to pounce. Raphael would have to do better than that. "Screw you, Ra-hck!"

He felt his body twitch involuntarily before he even registered the touch of Raph's finger on the hollow of his shoulder, a sharp jolt shooting down his arm, through his spine. His knees gave way and before he knew it he was on the ground, spasming, his limbs numb and unresponsive.

"Sorry, Casey. Not today," Raph said, moving quickly.

Casey could barely protest as he saw his revenge getting flung out the window. Raph threw two shurikens, and Hun deflected them with his brass knuckles as though shooing an irritating fly. But Raph had thrown a third one, a bit to Hun's right, that he had obviously taken for granted.

...until the fire extinguisher started whistling through its new hole.

The metal casing burst, a cloud of white engulfing the group of Purple Dragons for a few seconds, enough for Raph to promptly pick up Casey off the ground and carry him up a ladder through the nearest window.

"Where are they!" they heard Hun shout in the distance.

* * *

The two strange figures fled the scene and eventually got lost in the shadows.

What they didn't know was that someone had seen the whole thing, from beginning to end.

"They're a little unorthodox, to say the least," said Iwao, and squat atop the rooftop ledge overlooking the docks scratching an itchy scar on his face.

Jiro chuckled beside him.

"But effective."

"Of one thing we can be certain." Fourteen warriors turned to their kashira, perched at the edge like a bird of prey who has spotted something in the tall grass. "They are not your ordinary street brawlers."

* * *

Raph didn't stop until they were deep underground, a good distance away from the docks. Burdened with an extra 140 pounds on his back, it had taken him too long to lose their pursuers. Casey had recently started kicking and thrashing against his grip, the effects of Raph's disabling nerve strike finally wearing off.

"Let go o' me, man!"

Raph did as he was asked, unceremoniously so, and Casey landed on the dank sewer floor with a grunt. Arms and legs still unable to support him, Casey propped himself on his elbow to yell at the turtle.

"What in the hell did you have to do that for! What  _was_ that!"

"Funny, I was gonna ask you the same thing," Raph countered, arms crossed and mouth straight.

"We were trashing those guys, we had 'em! It was our chance!"

"We were out-matched."

"You can't know that until you actually fight!"

Raph stared in absolute incredulity.

"Man, I always knew you were crazy. That's alright, I can work with crazy. It's the  _stupid_ I can't stand," Raph spat. "And right now you're being  _very_ stupid."

"Hey, Raph, fuck you! Alright? That guy is a menace to the city, he needs to be put down and you know it!"

"Don't give me that hero bologna, you're just pissed 'cause he beat you up those other times and you wanna go all desperado on him, you blockhead. You think I can't tell?"

"You don't get it, Raph." Casey's teeth were bared, glinting with the little light that filtered from a grate as he hopelessly tried to push himself to his knees.

"I get it, Case. You gotta trust me on that. But do I need to remind you what happened last time you tried to take on this guy? I barely got there in time to drag your unconscious ass out to safety. You didn't wake up for like a day? I was scared shitless! We all were! Any of this ringin' any bells?" Raph shouted, hands balled-up into fists at his sides to keep himself from whacking the man upside his head. " _You're_  the one who doesn't get it! He could've killed you! And you know, I'm not down with that!"

When Raph was finished he stood above Casey, who was still on the floor, and he tried to use his superior vantage to impose himself. A bad habit. It had never worked on Casey, not when the kid was being this stubborn, and it didn't work this time either. Casey looked straight up at him like he was threatening to pounce, his lips so tight they were turning into a thin white line.

But a few tense seconds passed and Casey sighed in resignation, a pout replacing the scowl. Rapha relaxed and reached for his pocket. All this precious time wasted fighting and running away and they still hadn't called the others. Now that it was safe, he pulled out his T-Phone to give his brothers the full report-only to realize it had been smashed during the fight. The phone had one big crack across the back, how appropriate; this was exactly how Raph's poor shell felt right now. The thing probably broke when he got thrown against that crate, too.  _Shit_.

"Case, your phone."

"Uh," muttered Casey, slowly reaching for his back pocket, and handed Raph the device.

Raph sighed right after unblocking the screen, "No signal down here. Well, it's been awhile since we left the warehouse. Mutagen is probably  _gone_ by now."

They weren't far from the lair. It would be easier to just go back there and tell the guys in person -and while he was at it, wash off all the mochi smears off his skin before going back out. He turned back to Casey, ready to pick him up again.

"I'm gonna get you home to sleep this off. You gonna stop squirming now or am I gonna have to poke you again? I'll knock you out for good, Case."

Casey scoffed, but he took Raph's hand when he offered it to help him get on his feet.

"We'll get him, Casey. I just gotta make sure you're gonna be smart about it."

"Sheesh, when did you get so much like Leo, man?" Casey said, adopting a dramatized expression of disgust.

"Say that again and you'll be getting home by postage," Raph threatened, pulling Casey's arm over his shoulders, yanking just a little too hard on purpose when Casey started laughing again.

_This idiot. Can't just stay mad like everybody else_ , Raph thought with a grin of his own.

Raph had to practically carry Casey through most obstacles like he was a brittle old man.

When he had dropped Casey off at his door, and when he was sure Casey had made it to his dad's apartment, the orange light of a bare bulb in his window and the slumping silhouette passing by, he made a final sprint home.

He hoped it wouldn't be too late and they could still at least trace the mutagen.

Everyone seemed to be asleep when Raph got back to the lair, all lights out, and not even Donnie was in his lab. He decided to take a moment to at least freshen up a bit before having to go out again and made a beeline for his room. But by the time he sat on his bed to replace the dirty bandages on his feet, he was so beat, so sore... and his back hurt like  _Hell_... and the lair was so quiet... - and  _oh_ , his bed felt so soft and warm... To think he was going to have to wake everybody up right away and start giving explanations, after which they'd probably want to go all the way back there for the mutagen - yeah, totally looking forward to another expedition like that.

Before he even realized it, he was suddenly sprawled out on the bed. He just wanted to rest his eyes for a tiny bit.  _What's a couple more minutes now, anyway…?_ he reassured himself as he snuggled against the softness of his pillow, fighting to keep his eyes open.

* * *

After a while, once the goons had loaded the truck with the mysterious crates and left, and the warehouse was once again dark and silent, another group of silhouettes crossed the street; another lock was picked. The figures moved silently among the mess of toppled over crates and junk, like cats. One of them signalled another over and they both kneeled over the layer of fire extinguisher covering the ground. There was an object there glinting under the flashlight and Hachisu gingerly picked it up, wiping the white stuff off on her leg and turning it around in her hand to see it.

She sprung to her feet, brow furrowed as she stared at the symbol engraved on the shuriken.

"Jiro," she said, and the old man approached her at once. A little wary of the look on her face, Jiro glanced at the object she was showing him.

"The Hamato clan?" he breathed. "But… they live?"

"Apparently so. Somehow," Hachisu said, and she slipped the shuriken inside her sash where she kept her own.

"What now, kashira?"

"We find them, and we talk to their leader. With luck, we can make them our allies."

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We want to thank everyone who leaves comments on this, you guys have NO IDEA how that motivates us.
> 
> Kudos are nice, but just a simple "I loved it!" makes our day.


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Raph kind of slept in… and kind of didn’t get to warn everybody about those crates of mutagen… Oops.  
> Meanwhile Donnie and Leo have a story of their own that the others should know about.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Family and some nice bubbly Apriltello in this chapter. An interlude of sorts.
> 
> As always, huge HUGE thanks to our beta readers Queequegg and Theherocomplex. You have no idea how much we've improved thanks to you guys.

 

* * *

After that uncomfortable lunch, April felt an awkward shift between herself and her father, she spent all afternoon in her bedroom, spaghetti sitting like a rock in her stomach, trying to make good use of her time—emphasis on "trying".

That night, she went to bed early with nothing more than a downhearted "good night" and a routine peck on the cheek. So she hadn't expected to find her father in the kitchen that morning, presenting her with a smile and a small tray of fresh pastries from the bakery down the street. The delicious fumes wafted across the kitchen and into her nose and her belly growled fiercely, reminding her that she had barely eaten last night.

April went up to her dad, cautiously optimistic, and asked, "What's this?"

Her father smiled ruefully when he answered.

"You've been so helpful lately, I just wanted your Sunday to start off with a bang." He reached out and tucked the purple strand of hair behind her ear. "I want you to take the day off, go see the turtles. Have fun."

April knew that this probably was nothing but a little respite, probably him just trying to compensate for last night's argument. Things between them were not all solved. But she didn't want to worry about that now because, at least for today, she could look forward to a guilt-free hangout session at the lair.

She felt as though her dad had just pulled her free from a cave-in after days in the dark—she just felt immensely grateful for that new lungful of fresh air. When she walked out the front door, her backpack full of books was the only weight she felt on her shoulders.

* * *

Raph was not a morning person. Couple that with a very short, very bad night's sleep, and Raph could hardly qualify as a living person that morning. And on top of that, he had gone to bed without first taking off his gear. Not the first time that had happened, and his joints resented him now, leg propped up in an awkward angle against the bulk of his kneepad. His body felt several dozen pounds heavier than usual, and his carapace might as well have turned into solid iron.

He would have gone straight for the half-empty can of Wake Up on the nightstand, but the call of nature was too loud to ignore, like the friggin' drums of Jumanji. Raph scrambled through the hallway and across the common room towards the bathroom, only to find it locked from the inside, the sound of rushing water telling him someone was using the shower. Fan-fucking-tastic.

"Who the hell's in there?" he said in an angry, hoarse slur. His tongue was still half-asleep too. "I'm in no mood for this, and nobody fucking dare mention the bathroom schedule unless they want it stuffed where the sun don't shine!"

To his surprise and absolute disgrace, this time it was Splinter's voice resonating through the door.

"Raphael! What kind of language is that? Learn some manners and practice the virtue of patience!" Splinter yelled, his voice partly distorted by the sound of running water.

Raph's stomach did a flip. "I'm-I'm sorry, sensei, I didn't know you were in there…"

"It shouldn't matter who is in here! You must learn to respect other people's time! The bathroom is not your property!"

"Hai, sensei!"

"Now, would it be too much to ask that you leave me to carry out my personal hygiene in peace?"

"Hai, sensei! I mean no! No, sensei, go ahead," he stammered. Man, he must have really slept in if he had just managed to catch Splinter in his bathroom time.

Ignoring the snickers coming from the couch as well as the throbbing pain in his bladder, he turned away from the bathroom door. Splinter's scoldings were like three cans of Wake Up: they were an excellent motivator, but man did they make you want to pee.

Intent on avoiding any accidents, Raph waddled down to the living area like a duck with a rash and very delicately sat himself on the cushioned bench to wait next to Mikey, who was currently watching a weekend rerun of Crognard the Barbarian.

"Hi, Raph," Mikey said cheerfully, and Raph replied with a simple grunt.

There was something nagging him, something he was supposed to do. But he shrugged it off for later, as he couldn't be the least bit bothered right now. It took him a few moments to register something jabbing into his side. He twisted on the spot, reaching into the space between his side and his belt, and pulled out the offending object to glare at it. The kitten with the oversized head waved at him from the front side of the purse, the words "Hola Gato" embroidered next to it. Something sticky was jutting from the top, and it took him another moment to recognize one of the mochis from the Purple Dragon warehouse, completely smooshed into the purse's zipper, one Chee-Z ball partly absorbed into the confines of its dough like a grotesque representation of a feeding amoeba.

And of course, as soon as Mikey saw it, he let out a squeal of delight and yanked the entire composite from his brother's hands.

Mikey gasped. "Ooh, that's pretty! And it comes with a prize!" He plucked the soft mochi with attached cheese ball and happily tossed it into his mouth.

"Oh, yeah," Raph said with his empty hand still held up in the air. At this point in their lives, he was only mildly disgusted and not all that surprised. "I guess I got this for you."

"Thanks, Raph!" Mikey said, chewing happily, and turned his attention back to the show, purse cradled tenderly in his lap like a treasure. Raph stared blankly at the TV, feeling his stomach twist, because his brain had suddenly kicked into gear, and he finally remembered that part of yesterday that was so important. He would have facepalmed if both his hands weren't busy clutching at his lower abdomen. He had all but forgotten about the whole mutagen thing, right up until he saw Mikey's gift. The need to pee was still extremely distracting, but he had enough brain cells running now to worry that he might not have warned his brothers in time. That mutagen was bound to be long gone now.

_Dammit… The guys are gonna kill me._

"And where did you get that?"

Raph jumped at the voice, and turned around to see Leo standing right behind them, teacup in hand. When did he get here?

"Jeez, Leo, don't just sneak up on a desperate turtle like that!" Raph squeaked, helplessly pressing his thighs together.

"And what the heck happened to you?" Leo asked, leaning closer.

Raph looked down at himself. His dark skin was mottled with several types of stains, and there were pieces of food and mochi paste stuck into the crevices of his plastron.

"I thought something smelled weirder than usual," Mikey said, apparently only now noticing.

Raph had the fleeting urge to swing at them both, but he just couldn't keep his mind on more than one thing at that time—and that one thing was his throbbing bladder. Turning his attention in the direction of the bathroom, Raph confirmed that the shower was still going. Disaster approached if he didn't do something quick.

"Um, well… I was planning on telling you guys last night, but I kinda… fell asleep." Raph said casually, hedging. Leo just waited. "So here's the thing," Raph continued, voice coming out strained from all the contracting he was doing. "We followed some Purple Dragons to this warehouse and it turns out they have mutagen..."

"What?" Leo exclaimed, and Raph shrunk deeper into himself.

"Just… a few crates…"

"You found mutagen and you just went to bed?"

"I didn't go to bed, not on purpose!" Raph said, wishing he could yell. But in his current state it was just too risky. But he did manage a very angry-sounding groan. "I just kind of… unintentionally… I was exhausted, okay?"

"Why couldn't you just call before, when you found it?" Leo demanded.

"We were running away, and my phone got busted and I really gotta go before my bladder suffers the same fate!" Raph almost begged, sounding like a pinched balloon.

Leo sighed. "Okay, go—" Raph was on his feet before his brother was done talking, "—but make it quick. We'll cover this in the meeting."

"Aw, man, there's a meeting today?" Mikey's voice whined.

"Hey, where are you going?" Raph heard Leo call after him when he didn't head for the bathroom.

"In the sewers," he replied with resignation, hurrying towards the turnstiles in little hopping steps.

"Hey, Raph," another voice said in front of him, and he only barely lifted his head to reply without stopping before rushing down the tunnel.

"Hey, April."

The girl followed him with her gaze until he was out of sight, then turned towards the entrance shrugging the weight of her backpack to a more comfortable position.

"Hi, guys. What's with Raph?" she asked, turnstiles ticking as she passed through.

"Morning, April! Nothing serious. Raph is just dealing with a little schedule conflict," Leo said through a lopsided grin while Mikey laughed.

"Bathroom's occupied, huh?" April said, and Leo nodded. "Donnie still sleeping?"

"Probably."

"He went in his lab last night and he hasn't come out since!" Mikey said in the same dramatic tone of voice that was expected of a horror movie show host—the kind they run late at night.

April played along. "I'll go see what unholy experiments he's concocting, then."

"Oh, and see if you can jump-start him, we're having a meeting in ten minutes," Leo said.

A surprise meeting; something important was going on. "I'll try," she said with a knowing smile.

"Try luring him out with some coffee," Leo suggested, and she gave him a thumb's-up as she made her way towards the kitchen. She was way ahead of him, and after that gratifying breakfast with her dad, she definitely felt up to the challenge. However she had a hunch that just coffee wouldn't cut it today, so she would also add an extra. Once the mug was full with the the murky, indeed almost black elixir, she grabbed a couple of pop-tart baggies and marched towards the lab with the food to the sound of Mikey ominous singing.

"There is gloom and doom while things go boom, in Donnie's la-a-a-ab!"

But she reached the metal doors and signalled for silence, so Mikey shrank into himself, chin beneath the plastron with a naughty smile crinkling his freckled snout.

And when she finally went inside the lab, her first impression was of having found what looked like a beaten up, half plucked giant chicken taking Donnie's place in his chair. Upon a second look, she discovered they weren't feathers at all, but a whole coat of yellow sticky notes, stuck onto Donnie's shell, head and shoulders.

Mikey.

She stifled a guffaw, not wanting to wake him yet, as she approached the desk.

Donnie must have fallen asleep last night right in front of his computer as per usual, one hand over the mouse while the other forearm served as a pillow. Not for the first time April wondered how he could sleep with his neck all twisted like that and still have a functioning spinal cord in the morning. It had to be some kind of mutant super-human ability.

He was snoring softly inside the crook of his arm, his breath ruffling the sticky notes around his brow. She could've stayed like that for hours, watching him sleep so peacefully, mumbling gibberish into his keyboard —or was it… French? Was he mumbling in French?

Even the times they had all lived together, it had been a rare thing to catch him sleeping. It seemed his brain was always in top gear, conjuring equations, categorizing his surroundings, like every idle moment was a moment wasted. He always went to bed last, if at all.

She took a seat on the stool next to him, setting the tray on the table and her backpack on the floor, and gently shook his arm, one of the few manageable places she could reach that was not covered in sticky notes.

"Donnie," she sang.

He moaned reluctantly, and then she heard him sniff and his head sprung upwards out of its hiding place. The pieces of bright yellow paper dangled from the movement.

"I smell coffee," he muttered, sniffing the air like a little blind mole.

"Good morning, Don."

He blinked a couple of times, heavy-lidded, and finally seemed to catch sight of her, a smile rapidly spreading his features.

"Mm-ning, April!" he mumbled hoarsely, stretching, and for a split second April was a little taken aback by the stranger's voice coming out of Donnie's mouth. She had almost forgotten about their little accident in the dojo the day before. Even half asleep he sounded like an action hero. But a couple dozen sticky notes framed his sleepy visage, counteracting any heroic effects of his hoarse throat, and she was unable to contain her laughter.

"That's a good look on ya," she said, plucking one of the papers from his forehead and showing it to him.

"What?" He looked at it with narrowed eyes, then up at his own brow, and when he reached up to the papers stuck there he caught sight of his arm and gave himself a once-over. He whined throatily, "Aww, Mikey! Do you have any idea how hard it is to find blank sticky note packs in the trash?!" he groused towards the lab doors, and his words were met with Mikey's boisterous laughter.

April laughed too, helping him pick papers off his shell. "I can get you dozens, Donnie. They're like a dollar a pound."

"I knew I should've locked the door," he said, trying to recover as many as he could, neatly stacking one on top of the other.

"Do you ever sleep in your bed, Donnie?"

"Hey, I do that more often than anyone thinks." His voice was rough and it caught a bit, and April felt the already familiar pang of guilt.

"How's your voice?" she asked.

His eyebrows quirked as if he hadn't thought about it until she mentioned it, taking one hand to his throat and clearing it.

"Hmm, a little better," he said quickly, and April could practically see him fumbling for a way to reassure her. She smiled, not wanting to worry him.

"Good," she said, and was rewarded by Donnie's own smile. "I brought you breakfast."

April turned on her stool and produced a steaming coffee mug. He made a sound of pure bliss.

"Oh, April… you're an angel," he said, eagerly accepting the mug before taking the first sip and she gave him an ironic chuckle in response. Just the kind of thing Donnie said to her that she usually had a hard time believing, no matter how often or how convincingly he said it, whether it was intentional or something that would occasionally slip. At least he wasn't calling her his "sweet chinchilla" anymore. Not within her earshot, at least...

April let him take a few more avid gulps of his coffee in silence, waiting for it to take effect. Finally he set the mug down with a content sigh, eyes closed. When he opened them, he was a whole different person, straightening on his chair and stretching his numb muscles to wakefulness, all ready for another day's work.

"Let's see," he said, and as he woke up his computer, April took both pop-tart baggies, keeping one to herself and handing the other one out to Donnie, who didn't waste any time unwrapping it. April inwardly sniggered as she saw him go straight for the icing, which he attacked with licks and nibbles before actually sinking his teeth in the pastry.

If she hadn't known the turtles—and Donnie—she would've thought they'd never eaten a bite in their entire lives, judging by the way they sometimes gobbled down food when they were hungry. And Donnie must have been pretty hungry, even with his throat sore like that. April knew he would often forget to eat or drink or take bathroom breaks once he got absorbed into something truly interesting. By the time she was done unwrapping her own piece, he was already half-way through his.

After three bites, April realized she had only grabbed a pop-tart for herself out of gluttony, a subject of social eating. Donnie, on the other hand, was picking up the crumbs from his piece, which was all but gone. He looked like he could eat about four more of them.

"Wanna eat my pop-tart?" she said, and nearly choked. The words had left her mouth before she could get a proper hold of them to stop them from reaching Donnie's ears.

_Oh, God. That sounded so wrong._

But luckily Donnie seemed to take it a hundred percent literally as he gladly accepted her offering.

"Thanks!"

Inadvertently, April found herself staring. Donnie's thick tongue slid over the icing, ravenous, passionate. Her brow twitched with confusing emotions, and for the first time seeing him do that, she felt the need to look away, heat rising to her cheeks.

"You're welcome," April replied finally with laughter that came out a little nervous, pretending to inspect her nails, or that lose thread dangling from the hem of her shirt, waiting for Donnie to be done. Finally she turned to file through some of the papers that lay scattered around the keyboard, all full of Donnie's scribbles. "So what's this you're working on?"

He took a second to swallow a piece of pop-tart in his mouth —how was most of the pop-tart gone so quickly?—, wincing just a little bit as the lump made its way down, and started saying, "Oh, it's…" but then he gasped, as if he'd just remembered something, and hit himself on the forehead. "Oh! Oh my gosh, April! You're not gonna believe this! I've been dying to tell you!"

But April didn't get to hear it, because Leo had just poked half of his body through the opening in the lab doors.

"Donnie, you up already? It's time," he said, tapping his wrist even though April had never seen him wear a watch—maybe because he couldn't just get one that would fit his wrist.

Oh, right. April had all but forgotten about that mysterious meeting and her mission to retrieve Donnie.

"Oh, uh- coming," Donnie agreed, albeit a little deflated, and Leo nodded before stepping out again.

"So what's this amazing thing you were gonna tell me?" April said when she saw Donnie getting up, hating to miss whatever was making him so excited.

His mouth quirked as though he was debating something in his head.

"I really, really wanted to tell you as soon as I saw you, but I am already explaining it at the meeting. So at the risk of you hearing it twice, I'll just give you a teaser." He paused for two seconds, and shook with contained ardour. Then he said simply, "Time travel."

April's brow creased, honestly a little worried.

"You… invented a time machine?"

"Not exactly," he replied cryptically, downing the rest of the coffee in one loud gulp before getting up, inviting her to follow.

* * *

Donnie exited the lab feeling very content with how the morning was turning out so far. Nothing started off his day like waking up to April's smiling face, and now finally he was going to dazzle her and everybody else with his announcement.

"So," Donnie said with a loud clap as he and April arrived at the group, and he rubbed his hands together in anticipation. "When do we begin?"

"We're just waiting for Splinter now," Leo said. Everybody was there except sensei, but according to Donnie's calculations and the bathroom schedule, he should be out any minute.

Karai was the first to ask, hands on hips. She was already wearing her training outfit, ready to roll. "So what's this about?"

"Yeah, you guys are being all mysterious, it's freaking me out," Mikey asked, suspicious eyes flickering between his brothers.

"Leo says you got this super exciting news," Raph added, arms crossed in a show of skepticism.

Donnie looked at his brother and blinked. He was just now seeing the state of him: not just sleepy and a little dishevelled, but also as though he'd been rolling around in cookie dough. He had smudges of some mysterious paste all over his body, and Donnie could smell the colorful mixture of sweat and cheese and a myriad of other things clinging to his skin as well. He looked like he needed a shower—or a pressure washer.

"Well, it's difficult to summarize. What happened to you?" he asked, giving Raph a curious look.

Raph shot him the look of a war veteran. "Pull up a chair…"

"Ha-ha, looks like he and Casey had a little too much fun last night, and Casey's still sleeping it off." Mikey elbowed Raph teasingly, earning a glower.

Donnie was grateful that he would know what had really happened in a few minutes so that he didn't have to dwell on the mental images that Mikey's comment provoked.

There was a distant click and the creaking of hinges, and Splinter finally emerged from the bathroom—fresh out of the shower and dressed in his bathrobe, towel hanging from his arm and a soft hairbrush in his claw with a bit of fur between its bristles. Donnie heard Raph give a grunting sigh for some reason.

Splinter halted and looked their way, fur wet and ears straight in suprise. He probably wasn't expecting them there at training hour.

Donnie couldn't help noting—with a hint of hilarity—how even the wet-rat look he was currently sporting did not detract from his elegant, dignified posture—even if it did make him look quite skinnier, and frankly, much less imposing. Donnie made a mental note to check if they were well stocked on Drano.

"What is this?" Splinter asked, looking from face to face. A drop of water fell from one of his whiskers.

"Master Splinter, we have important news," Leo announced, bearing an expression of utmost consequence.

Meanwhile all Donnie could do, eager to tell his tale, was smile as wide as his face would stretch.

"We were just waiting for you, father. These dorks wouldn't say anything until you were here," Karai said cockily.

"Yeah, and I'm dying!" Mikey whined.

In all his impatience, Donnie couldn't deny the satisfaction of building up the tension and witnessing the effects on the others.

April listened patiently by Donnie's side, looking up at him with intrigued eyes, and Splinter lifted his bushy eyebrows in a show of gauged interest.

"Then let us proceed," he said with a gentle wave of his hand, and went to sit on one of the benches.

Most of the others did the same. Only Donnie and Leo remained standing, because Leo liked a good view of things, and because Donnie was eager to begin, already taking a deep breath to start on his discourse.

But then Leo said "Raph goes first," and Donnie's words caught in his throat. He tried not to look disappointed as he stepped aside to wait his turn. He heard a faint snicker at his side and caught April pretending to hide her grin. He shot her a look of mock-annoyance.

Raph came forward, rumbling under Leo's reproachful glare like he was taking the stand in a court of law. Donnie knew that glare, Leo had certainly learned it from Splinter.

Over the next couple of minutes, Raph narrated his escapade with Casey the previous night, and how they had found a little more than they bargained for in that warehouse when they came across a whole new batch of mutagen canisters. Donnie understood the looks Leo had been giving Raph now. The news was met with clamours of shock and dread —as well as a fair amount of foul-mouthed protests.

"Seriously? Again?" April squalled, standing up and throwing her hands in the air.

But for Donnie, the word 'mutagen' wasn't just dire news; it was full of promise, of potential.

"No, you don't understand!" he interceded excitedly, stepping forward, dodging April's flailing arms to address the whole of the group. "This isn't all bad news! If I can retrieve some of that mutagen, I'll finally be able to engineer Timothy's retromutagen, among other things! All the mutants in New York, I could change them back!"

"Yeah, and maybe they have more of these!" Mikey held up the Hola Gato purse, which he'd been wearing on his arm this whole time.

"Actually, I've been trying to ask. How did you get that?" Leo said, pointing at the purse.

"Raph got it for me," Mikey said with bright eyes, leaning to hug his aforementioned brother, something Donnie wouldn't have risked in Raph's present condition. But Raph dodged Mikey's arms looking annoyed.

"I took it from the warehouse. The place was full of crap like this," he said.

Leo crossed his arms, and Raph once again boiled under the heat of his judgemental gaze.

"What? It was just one shitty plastic purse! It's like stealing can rings! I barely even realized I'd taken it!" he protested.

Donnie wasn't paying the purse much mind, really; he had something else to be angry about.

"Wait, so you had time to grab this stupid Gato bag, but you couldn't think to get me some mutagen?" he said, raising his voice right up to where it started to hurt his aching vocal chords. Raph knew how important this was!

"Well, where was I supposed to stash the canister, Donnie? I was running away from Hun and his gang while carrying Casey on my back!" Raph cried angrily in Donnie's direction and pointed a thumb at his own shell. "This ain't a knapsack!"

And of course it was too much to ask that they'd make it a top priority to get the loot back intact, no matter how badly Donnie needed it.

"First things first, Donnie," Leo told him when he'd suggested it. "As long as that mutagen is in the hands of Hun, it's bad news only. If it comes down to it, we will destroy it before letting them use it. Once it's safe, you can have your fill of it."

Splinter stepped up from the sidelines to speak up. Leo had been leading the meetings lately, Donnie supposed as a form of training. During meetings, Splinter only listened and would occasionaly speak when needed—or to express his disagreement.

"Leonardo is right, my son. We cannot take any risks," he told Donnie, calm but firm. There would no more arguing on the matter. And despite his persistence, Donnie knew deep down that it was the right call. He ended up agreeing like the rest of them, if only a little disgruntled. If he'd learned something, it was that when dealing with mutagen, any slip-up could be disastrous, and it was crucial that it didn't remain in the wrong hands—even if this could be their last chance to get some themselves. And who knew if they would still find it in that warehouse. The ideal thing would have been to have gone as soon as Raph and Casey saw it, before the Purple Dragons even had time to move it somewhere else.

But no use crying over spilt milk...

After a short discussion, it was agreed that they would go find it as soon as they were done here, search the entire city if they had to, starting with the warehouse. And with that matter closed, it was Donnie's turn to shine, finally.

Already in a much better mood, Donnie gave them the summed-up version, doing his best to use short terms and lots of analogies. There were two people he was minding especially for their reactions; April—because obviously, and because he loved seeing her blue eyes sparkle in awe like that—, and Karai.

Donnie and Leo had both agreed beforehand to omit future Donatello's comment on Karai.  _Tell Karai not to go anywhere_ , he had said, which hardly counted as a warning. They couldn't know if it really was important or not, and if the only thing they'd have to watch out for was that Karai was there when the future turtles arrived, then so far there were no signs of a problem. She hadn't said much—unlike April, whose excitement had Donnie's core bubbling—, but then that was Karai's thing; during meetings she would sit quietly while her peers argued, observing, and she would rarely give an opinion. Donnie often wondered if maybe she didn't think it was her place. After all, she had only been with them for a few months.

But until there was a sign of trouble, right now, telling everybody what Future Donatello had said would mean putting Karai on the spotlight for no real reason. It would mean everybody would get nervous and want to know more, and neither he nor Leo would have an answer. So for now they would keep a close eye on her, just in case, and save her the unwanted attention.

Everything else —the wormhole, the future turtles coming over, that Chinese pendant they would have to watch out for and that no one seemed to know anything about—Donnie included in his exposition.

"This has got to be some kind of a prank, right?" Raph said even after all of Donnie's explanations. He'd been annoying the hell out of Donnie all throughout with his noises of skepticism.

"It's not a prank! I've talked to him. I  _know,_ " Donnie insisted.

"How do you know? It could be Rockwell messing with you or something, or someone worse."

"It's not Rockwell, and it can't be anyone else! Donatello—the other Donatello—sent me the blueprints for a portal, and they definitely have my hallmarks. They're in my lab, I can show you!"

Raph scoffed. "I don't know blueprints."

"You don't have to believe me, Raph," Donnie said, pointedly turning his shell to him. "You just have to wait and see."

"Guys, I think this might be the real deal," Leo added seriously, which seemed to be exactly what this conversation needed. And all it took was Leo's good word for it—and maybe Splinter's silence meaning he agreed. It worked for Donnie, and he offered Leo a glance as thanks.

Now that their audience was caught up, and that they were past the first wave of suspicion and huffs of incredulity, Raph's mutagen news quickly became the smallest of potatoes.

"So you're telling me… that we are going to meet ourselves… from the future?" Mikey squeaked. "Uh, won't that mess with time, or whatever?"

"There's a movie on that, right?" Karai laughed ironically. First words she had said since they started.

"No, see, it's a lot more complex than that," Donnie began to explain. "It ultimately proves the multiverse—or meta-universe—hypothesis, something which scientists and philosophers alike have theorized. It stipulates that there's an infinite number of possible—"

"Whoa, whoa, with the science!" Mikey cut him off. "All I need to know is that the universe won't explode or something. It won't, right?"

Donnie sighed. "No."

"You're positive."

"Yes."

"Awesome! When are they coming?" Mikey cried.

"Actually, I don't know," Donnie admitted with a shrug. "Soon, I think."

"What do they want?" April asked.

"I don't know, they weren't all that specific. I don't even know how many of them will come."

"There sure is a lot you don't know," Raph said haughtily.

"I'm certain they have their reasons," Donnie protested defensively. "And besides, we haven't had more than a few minutes to talk anyway."

"I can't be the only one that's a little freaked out by this, right?" Raph continued. "Like there's gotta be a catch. This has got to have some kind of… karmic consequence of some kind."

Speaking of consequences and things they didn't know, Donnie shot Karai a sideways glance. She was sitting, lounging, one leg crossed over the other. She seemed… fine. Perfectly at ease with everything. Whether it was because she didn't believe a word or she thought herself above seeing anything special about the whole ordeal, Donnie couldn't tell. But at least she didn't seem about to run off like future Donatello's comment had almost made them believe.

"What do you think, Karai?" he asked her in a casual tone, a nudge.

Donnie caught Leo turning to stare quite conspicuously, and Karai's eyebrows shot up, apparently surprised by the sudden attention. She pursed her lips and said squarely, "I think karma's bullshit."

"I agree," Donnie said happily, while Splinter gave the tactless remark a very slow blink.

"I must say this troubles me, Donatello," their sensei said suddenly, and Donnie went mute.

Ooh, here we go, he thought, already trying to come up with a better way of selling his project to his father.

Splinter went on calmly, "It is as Raphael said—more or less. It might not be wise to tinker with the natural order of the universe."

Donnie inwardly shrugged off the idea. He knew for a fact that the universe could take a lot more punishment than people gave it credit for. However he was afraid Splinter would forbid him from pursuing this further. His father had maintained an interested but cautious attitude on his part up until now.

But even if Splinter ordered him to let it go and forget about it, he would not be able to simply obey and sit still while the most incredible thing he had undertaken slipped from his fingers. He couldn't! There was a line of how far Donnie would go to honor his father's opinions, and it was drawn right here.

But Master Splinter stroked his beard, and Donnie was surprised to see mischief twinkling in his eyes as he said, "However I will admit, I am… curious. If it is true this might be a most enlightening experience. When are you going to know more?"

Donnie stared for a couple of seconds at his sensei's keen face before replying, "Uh, well, they're going to contact me again in a couple of days. You guys can all watch."

"Woah, will it be a videochat?"

"I doubt it, Mikey."

Several bodies deflated around them with a simultaneous "aw".

"So we're just gonna watch you type? Forget that," Mikey said.

"That's like saying you won't read a book because it doesn't have any pictures!"

"What's your point?"

"What's- you know what? Nevermind. I've had this conversation with you before and I've always regretted it," Donnie said cooly. Mikey pouted, but didn't retort. "Anyway! I for one can't wait to get started on the portal!"

"Ooh, need some help?" April offered, enthusiastic.

"Sure! I can always use the extra set of hands." Needless to say, Donnie was ecstatic. It wasn't just the portal now that was waiting for him; April would be there too.

However, as exciting as Donnie's news was for everybody—and as much as they all wanted to know everything there was to know about their future counterparts—Splinter once again rained on their parade by playing the voice of their collective conscience. He stood, looking ready to take charge once again, and that was enough to immerse the group into an attentive silence.

"My children, I know this is all very exciting, but there is still another more pressing matter at hand that should not be put aside even for this. That mutagen needs our immediate attention." And in his commanding voice he said, "No training today. Do what you must to find that mutagen. But be cautious."

"Hai, sensei," they all said in unison.

So it was settled. They were heading out right away even if it was the middle of the day. Once they got Casey to pick up his phone, they asked him to chauffeur the team in the van to the warehouse, to have a look.

"You know the docks are probably going to be too busy at this hour, right?" Donnie said, still a little frustrated about not being able to get to work on his project right away.

Leo hung up his T-phone and shrugged. "We have to try."

"And what about the portal?" Donnie insisted. " I need to make sure it's finished by Tuesday!"

Leo gave it a moment's thought.

"Alright, you two can stay here then," he said, and Donnie smiled when he saw him point at April too, performing a little fist bump of victory in his head. He felt a special kind of gratitude towards Leo for taking April's expressed interest in working on the portal into account.

"Can I stay and help Donnie too?" Mikey exclaimed hopefully.

Thankfully Leo also knew as well as Donnie the dangers of letting Mikey near his experiments. "No," he said curtly. "The rest of us are going to check out that warehouse. If that doesn't work, we'll try again tonight."

Another scavenger hunt for mutagen, Donnie thought, flashes of hideous mutant atrocities coming back to him. Just like old times.

Donnie sighed to himself, making a note to dust off his old mutagen tracker, already certain this first expedition would turn fruitless. Even the Purple Dragons weren't stupid enough to leave such precious cargo where they knew someone would come looking again. There was no way this was going to be that easy.

Everyone seemed just as disappointed they had to go in such a hurry that they couldn't bury Donnie in an avalanche of inquiries—which partly was a good thing, considering Donnie didn't really know all that much.

"So, April. Shall we get started?" he said, waving a tentative hand towards the lab.

"Yes!" she agreed with a little hop and they both got moving.

Even in the midst of terrible danger, Donnie's heart was buzzing like a hummingbird, because if it wasn't thrilling enough that he got to unravel the blueprints of an interdimensional portal sent to him by his future self, on top of that he would be doing it with April. He'd been crossing his fingers all morning that she'd have time to stay a while, so when she confirmed that she would be there all day, he had to repress the urge to dance his way to the lab, reminding himself that April was looking.

Behind them, everybody else was shuffling about getting ready to head out, Leo issuing out instructions as the rest set out to follow them. "Gear up, guys. We're meeting Casey in half an hour. And Raph? You are not setting foot in the van until you take a shower."

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Remember: reviews are writer chow! :DDD
> 
> Thanks so much guys! :3


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Getting to unravel the blueprints for an inter-dimensional portal sent to him by his future self… and with April’s assistance to top it all off… Man, what more could Donnie ask for?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter gonna be a treat for all you Apriltello nerds! Enjoy! *squee*
> 
> And of course huge thanks to our beta readers Queequegg and Theherocomplex, we owe them a lot.

The lair was as quiet as Donnie had ever known it—a luxury for someone living in a home full of belligerent brothers. He could hear the faint murmur of traffic overhead and the sound of dripping water out in the tunnels. With the team gone to check on that warehouse, the absence of chatter and activity—and too often the cacophony of yelling and throwing of things—was almost eerie. It was perfect. Besides, Splinter had retired to meditate in his room, so he and April were pretty much all to themselves.

Having April at his side was as inspiring as working to his favorite song. They made the best lab team, and had worked together for so long that April's able hands and alert mind were like an extension of his own. He had been proud to learn that she was way ahead of the rest of her science class thanks to working together, as he had never missed a chance to teach her everything her avid mind was willing to take.

Looking back, Donnie had no idea how he'd remained sane for so many years without her, without someone to nerd-out with about science. He loved his family more than anything, but his brothers and father wouldn't touch a scientific subject with a six foot staff. He couldn't really believe it when April first started showing actual interest in what he had to say. If there was something she didn't understand, she didn't ask him to "dumb it down" for her. She asked for an explanation. She yearned to understand.

And yes, it was true April had caught his eye from the first second he had serendipitously spotted her in his peripheral vision, and he had felt irrevocably drawn to her; the stunning orange hair over pale freckled skin, blue eyes bright, attentive, and so intrepid. That first image of her was forever imprinted on his mind. He thought she was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen, walking the street with her head straight like a beacon in the mist, ready to take on the whole world by storm. And he'd gotten his share of mockery for saying it out loud... But it didn't matter what anyone said, because in the end, he knew all that beauty would not have amounted to anything if a minute later he'd found out she was dumb as a rock.

But that wasn't what happened.

Anyone could have a crush. The first time he had dropped a fun fact and she did not flinch away or roll her eyes, but actually carried the subject further, was the moment he fell in love; the moment he realized this girl—this beautiful, brave, human girl—was also the closest thing to an intellectual equal he had ever known, taking into account his usual company.

So having her here now, after what had felt like forever since they'd hung out, or even talked… He felt as though a little piece of the sun was sitting next to him at the lab desk—in the poetic sense, of course; actually having a piece of the sun near would burn him to a crisp in mere seconds, he thought to himself, and tried to come up with a more accurate analogy.  _April, you're the terrarium heat lamp that lights my days._  Not quite as romantic...

Anyway, it felt even better than all that when he noticed her mood had improved greatly from the previous day. He absently caressed his own throat as he thought back to their last training exercise.

The entire school year had been a bit difficult on her, but these past few weeks had been particularly haywire. She had been scurrying away everyday with some justification or other, only dropping by for weekend training. Donnie had indeed noticed the missing warmth in his big empty lab, his only company being Timothy's blank, immobile stare, still frozen in his jar waiting for the retromutagen that Donnie had promised him so long ago.

There were still shadows under April's eyes that the light makeup couldn't quite conceal, but her demeanor was more relaxed, much livelier as she ranted on fervently about how much she hated the Kraang.

"Mutagen.  _Again_. Are we never gonna get rid of the stuff? I swear if I see another Kraang I'm going to personally cram their own skulls up their butt."

"I don't think they even have butts," Donnie said thoughtfully, and set the old Kraang portable portal on the bench. Good thing he had kept it. Obviously Future Donatello already knew he would have it, and it was the main ingredient in the detailed recipe he had provided. "In fact, based on their physiology," he went on, "my first guess would be that they have a two-way digestive system."

April's nose wrinkled in a disgusted grimace.

"Then I'll cram it in the first hole I find," she continued gloomily, a snarl forming as though she were envisioning the moment of her retribution.

"Can you light the blowtorch, please? And get the chisels?" Donnie said methodically while propping the device between the clamps and tightening the grip, holding it firmly in place. He heard April rummage through some drawers, and a moment later she was beside him.

"Here you go," she said, her voice back to a sweeter tone.

"Thanks. Gloves." Donnie put on his pair and waited for April's confirmation.

"Check."

"Goggles?"

April adjusted hers and struck a pose like a model in a sunglasses commercial. "You know it."

"Awesome," he said, giving her a gloved thumbs up. "Let's hope this does it. Do you want the honors?"

April eagerly accepted the challenge. She sat on the stool, facing her objective and aiming the blowtorch fire at a seam in the metal casing where Donnie had indicated, and they waited. The alien alloy was tough, so it took a few minutes for the metal to acquire the desired glow, but April did a good job of keeping it steady.

"Alright, take your chisel," he said when the glow became white, and took the blowtorch from her to set it down at a safe distance. "Try to break through this part of the seam here."

When April had managed to get the tip of the chisel wedged between the two halves, Donnie took his own chisel and aimed it at a point further down the seam, tapping the back of the tool softly with the hammer.

"Hold there. Hold…"

 _Snap_. The top half of the casing came off cleanly, and they both gave a cry of celebration.

The insides of the device were already familiar to Donnie, from deactivating Kraang bombs and bypassing security systems many a time in the past. Mikey would probably have a better hand with it than he could ever have—somehow—but the instructions on the blueprints should make it easy enough.

Heaving a sigh of satisfaction, Donnie took off his protective goggles and his gloves and watched his assistant do the same.

"Alright, first step: check! Thanks for the help, April. I'm glad you could come by today," he said then, which was a bit of an understatement.

"Me too, believe me," she sighed, and for a second there, she looked absolutely exhausted again. Thankfully the look was gone as quickly as it had come. "Oh, and my dad says hi back," she added.

"Cool! Tell him hi back… back."  _Smooth_. He moved on quickly, trying to outrun any potential reactions, and took April's five-fingered gloves and the goggles from her to put them away in the drawer next to his. "How is he?"

"He was in a good mood this morning," April said, and Donnie was pleased to see a smile on her face—which, as a bonus, always made her twice as pretty.

So  _that's_ what it was, then. Not surprising; April was always worrying about her dad. It wouldn't be the first time April avoided him and his brothers for his sake. Donnie was no psychic, but it was more than obvious that anything having to do with Kirby, good or bad, she would soak up like a sponge. Kirby being in a good mood meant April was too.

"Really? That's great! And you finally found some leisure time," he probed wishfully, but April's mouth screwed into a slight grimace, already contradicting him before she even said anything.

"Eh. I wouldn't call it that. I actually brought homework." She pointed her thumb at the backpack lying on the corner by the garage door. "But it seems so trivial now with what's cooking here, I mean… Holy shit, Donnie, the  _future_?" she exclaimed suddenly.

Donnie couldn't help himself. He  _squeaked_ , "I know, right!" and he didn't even care that his throat hurt, nor about sounding the least bit manly.

"And you got to talk to your future self! That must have been unreal!"

"My hands are still shaking!" he said, tittering. They were now face to face, April beaming and bouncing on her heels, and he realized she was only mirroring him. There really was nothing like being able to share such a thing with April and seeing her as excited as he felt.

She slid over to the workbench then with eager eyes.

"So this is what had you losing sleep these days," she said, peering curiously over some of the printed out blueprints on the desk, full of notes and scribbles, that he had been revising overnight.

Donnie shrugged, half dismissively, half apologetically, something that had become somewhat of a reflex every time someone mentioned his messed-up sleeping rhythm. "I just couldn't leave it! I was too hyper to sleep anyway."

"Being the son of Splinter, you'd think you'd have a better hang of turning off your  
brain once in awhile."

Donnie stopped tidying up the mess to face April, quickly formulating a well devised reply. He tilted his head slightly in mock confusion.

"Why would I want to turn off my brain?"

April seemed taken aback by the question, eyebrows quirking as she responded sarcastically, "Um… to rest?"

Donnie blew a righteous huff of air. "Even when asleep, the brain is  _never_ off. If it's off, it's because you're  _dead_ —or, at the very least, severely brain-damaged.

April swat his shoulder, voice rising in pitch and volume. "You know what I meant! Why do you have to do that all the time?" she spat, arms crossed, but Donnie could see the start of a smile in that little quiver of her lips.

"Hey, I like to be accurate," he insisted haughtily, and turned to point a stern finger at April. "And I expect the same kind of precision from my lab apprentice!"

April's face scrunched into a tight pout, and she crossed her arms in a stubborn gesture."Yes, Master,"

"That's better," Donnie said, using his best maestro voice, even though he could barely keep a straight face anymore. "Now be a good lackey and fetch me my magnifying goggles."

She whipped her head rebelliously, but swivelled around and ambled off. "Just wait until the lackey union hears about this," she said into the closet loud enough for him to hear, and he answered without taking his eyes off his notes.

"Evil lackeys don't have  _unions_."

Donnie heard the rustling and clanking of gadgets, and when he turned to look she was already coming back with purpose in her eyes, magnifying goggles in stock.

"Then I'm starting my  _own_ evil union."

"I think by definition you'd need more than one person for that, but since it's the thought that counts, then you shall suffer the full extent of the wrath of evil Dr. Hamato all the same," he countered smugly, with the lofty confidence of a despot and taking full advantage of his new voice.

April strutted up to him the last couple of steps, eyes narrowed and smile crooked.

"I wonder if Future Donatello is still this much of a dork…" she quipped and defiantly smacked the goggles into Donnie's waiting hand.

He in turn adopted a look of utter indignation. "I wonder if Future April is this much of a sassmouth," he retorted primly, one fist on his hip. With the other hand, he slipped on the goggles over his straight face with an overstated flourish.

Laughter had started to build, but then April's gaze got lost and they stood quietly for a beat, Donnie wondering what was going through her mind, as usual.

"You think we'll find out?" she asked at length, and there was an air of thrill to her demeanor. "Think we'll get to meet all our future selves?"

"Honestly, who knows? Kinda scary, though, when you think too much about it," Donnie confessed, something that had been bugging him in the back of his head since the previous night. He was, after all, an expert in overthinking.

April insisted, "So they really didn't mention me at all…?"

"No," he replied truthfully. "They barely said anything, really, they're kinda mysterious like that. The only ones I talked to are Mikey and myself, and someone else seemed to be there, but I don't know who… For all we  _really_ know, Mikey and I could be New York's only survivors," he joked, but laughter died in his chest before it had a chance to form.

Being reminded about the last conversation with Future Donatello, if it could even qualify as such, sent a shiver trickling up his spine; the disquieting secrecy, the warning about that mysterious pendant, the mention of Karai... As he tried not to think about all the things that can go wrong in the span of ten years, he realized he had trailed off into an unsettled silence.

But to his relief, April didn't look so much worried as curious. "So, uh, did you happen to keep those conversations?" she asked, gracefully saving him the task of coming up with an elegant way out. He realized he had his goggles on, and he pushed them up over his forehead, knowing the magnifying lenses were none too flattering.

"Yeah."

"Can I read them?"

"Sure!" Donnie said kindly, stepping over to his computer to browse for the text file, but only showed her the first conversation just as he and Leo had agreed. There was no need for anyone else to worry about Karai right now.

"There you go."

April sat down in Donnie's wheeled office chair and he made to continue taking the portal apart while she read. He slid his magnifying goggles back on and got to work picking out the various parts and orderly setting them aside.

"Ship of the Imagination," she said softly after a bit, and cast an amused glance at him. Donnie shrugged sheepishly, and she went back to reading, her eyes so close to the monitor now that he almost felt the need to give her a pamphlet on proper computer desk posture.

A couple minutes later, as he was disassembling a few circuits he heard the chair creak. April was against the backrest, regarding the screen with an incredulous smirk.

"Oh, my God," she said, huffing. "I'm not sure I would have believed him."

Donnie laughed. "Oh, I had my doubts too, right up until I took a look at these." He pulled his goggles up to rest on his head and picked up a couple of papers from the desk, flicking them in the air. He put them back down to stare in awe, contrasting the blueprints' designs with the Kraang device. The apparatus lay open and gutted like a fresh kill on the workbench. April rolled herself over on the chair and leaned forward to scrutinize the mess.

"Just look. You see these crystals?" He pointed a forefinger at the geometric looking objects of sharp edges and a deep violet tint. April watched, a little wrinkle of concentration forming on her brow. "They're the main component of the portal, they are what refracts the very fabric of space-time, curving it, like… like light through a glass prism. Remarkable." Donnie took a long moment to marvel at the ingenuity of the device. Such a complex concept, yet such a simple, elegant design. "You gotta hand it to those Kraang, they really are lightyears ahead."

April's mouth became an obstinate straight line. "Yeah, well, I still hate them."

"Oh, sure," Donnie conceded distractedly. "And Future Donatello… He managed to reverse engineer this piece of complex alien technology and modify it to suit his needs. I mean, I've had my fair share of encounters with Kraang technology, and those were complicated enough, but this… It's not just that he managed to find  _us_ —this one teeny tiny peephole roaming around across the universe, that would lead him to our specific time and place, it's— You know wormholes haven't even been proven by modern human science, right? And these notes…" Donnie grasped for the stool and pulled it over without looking, to sit next to April. "I barely even have to think; it looks like Future Donatello has done that for me. All  _I_ have to do is repurpose a few circuits, build a couple of new components and the wormhole will do the rest. This thing will even run on the energy emitted by the hole  _itself_ , which is  _genius_ because it means skipping the hassle of finding a proper power source!"

"That's green energy right there," April contributed.

"Yes! And, and Future Donatello, man, he must have been working on this for  _months_ , nonstop, probably built a program for that sole purpose, and probably hacked into some observatory to use their super telescopes—that's what I would do, at least, if I had to find this, this needle in a haystack—or like in all the haystacks in all the state of, I dunno, Texas..."

"That does sound like Donatello…" April said, and he lifted his eyes at the sneer in her voice to see her bemused grimace.

He was only now realizing how out of breath he was from all that talking, and he chuckled, flustered. "Sorry, I'm rambling."

"Yeah, you are," she agreed, nodding around her little lopsided smirk. "But don't worry, it's completely justified."

Donnie suppressed a sigh, and instead managed to smile to himself, taking comfort in April's proximity, and her look of interest as she examined the papers upon papers scattered across the bench, even though she probably couldn't understand but a fraction of it. Her face when she was concentrated —the little wrinkle in her brow, the slight pucker in her lips. Even to this day, he would often catch himself unintentionally staring when all was quiet between them, and he averted his eyes when he realized that's exactly what he was doing right now.

Still, she needed to know—and he needed to say it. He took a deep breath and hoped his voice wouldn't betray him.

"You know, you must be the only person who will sit through my science ramblings and not act like they're being tortured," he said softly, his voice cutting through the silence and she laughed, a tilt of her head that could very well translate into pity.

"Well, my dad's a scientist too, right? I pretty much grew up with his science ramblings. Brings back good memories."

Donnie carefully gauged her expression as she leaned to get a closer look of the portal, a gentle smile on her lips as if the thought made her happy. A bubbly warmth spread through Donnie's middle. "Really?"

"Yeah. Besides, it can be pretty educational."

 _I love you_ , thought Donnie, stopping himself just in time from saying it out loud, and praying her psychic powers hadn't suddenly evolved telepathic abilities.

This is what he was talking about; she  _got_ him. He wished he could tell her how much that meant to him.

"Future Donatello sounds pretty cool," April commented thoughtfully, twisting to look over at the computer screen where the text was still displayed, and Donnie felt a new wave of tickles in his stomach.

"Do I?  _He_? Does  _he_?" he stammered.  _It would appear the English language isn't made for time travel_ , he thought, and April seemed to agree, with a somewhat less pathetic imitation of his jabberings.

"Yeah, can't wait to meet him—or you, or whatever," she said, laughing, and Donnie saw it: a flash of purple among orange as she turned back to the table. A few strands were coming loose from her yellow hairband, and now he couldn't look away. He decided to brave it.

"Hey, I didn't get the chance to mention it yesterday; you colored your hair," he said quietly with an air of nonchalance.

"Oh! Yeah, it's just a streak."

Donnie watched, entranced, as she gracefully tucked the strand behind her ear. She was smiling, eyes intent on the blueprints—but fixed, so  _not reading_. Interesting...

"I like it," he said timidly, his brain working to find meaning to all the little signs. "I wanna say regalia?"

April tapped her nose.

"I knew it!" he exclaimed. "It's one of my favorite shades of purple. Fun fact: according to color theory, yellow and orange are what you'd call split complementaries of purple. That's why they work so well together."

She turned towards him again, slowly, as he finally heard himself saying those words and desperately tried to make amends.

"Uh, of course, by that I mean your streak."

"Mm-hm." She nodded, one eyebrow raised.

"That it looks good with your shirt and your hair," he specified. Just in case.

"Orange and purple do make a great team."

Donnie would not have been able to take his eyes off her if the ceiling caved down on them, as he felt her small hand patting his forearm and his skin became ablaze with the heat of a thousand stars.

That goodnight hug in the alley near Murakami's came rushing back to mind. The sensations washed over him, cramming his imagination full of whys and what-ifs, and once again Donnie found himself wondering. Hoping. And he didn't want to hope.

"You know, maybe I should get out my homework."

Donnie started a little, April's movement leaning away from the table yanking his thoughts back to the present. He winced to himself when he realized he had just been  _standing_ there like an idiot, gawking at her and barely breathing. But what else was new, right?

"Yes! Of course, homework's important. Don't worry about this, I can manage on my own for a while," he said hurriedly, motioning at his table packed full of papers and pieces of Kraang tech and resisting the urge to bonk his head against it. She had been so enthusiastic to participate at first, and he had to go and screw it up by making it awkward.

"Oh, but I'll be right here though," April said, and patted the wooden surface next to the portal. "I said I'd help, right? So just say the word and I'll give you a hand with whatever, okay?"

He agreed with a smile, feeling mildly relieved. "Will do."

And then there was something, a strange pause in which April just looked at him, her hand on the chair's rest. He thought he saw her lips twitch before she suddenly turned around and headed for the corner where her backpack lay. It had been quick, so much that Donnie couldn't even be sure that anything had happened at all.

He was no expert on reading people—machines and facts were his thing—but April proved to be most challenging sometimes.  _Is she uncomfortable?_  he wondered with a pinch of panic, peeking from the corner of his eyes while gathering a couple of chips and other components for the next phase.  _She must be feeling uncomfortable, especially if she can feel… if she can sense…_

While Donnie urged himself to focus on his work, April returned with her backpack and set up shop at the other end of the table, spreading her textbooks and sheets across the wooden surface. When she didn't sit to work, Donnie lifted his eyes from his task to see her standing with her hands on her hips.

"I think I'll go get me some coffee," she said, looking over her homework as though preparing for a long hike up a mountain, and clearly not too excited about the prospect.

That's when the sound of an engine coming closer tore them both from their current preoccupations. Two seconds later a set of tires screeched to a halt at the other side of the garage door, announcing the team's early arrival. Donnie exchanged a look with April— _sounds like mission failure_ —as a group of voices and footsteps made its way through the lair.

"I'll go ask what's up while I'm on it," April offered, and her smile helped loosen the nervous knot that had formed in his gut. "I know you just had breakfast, but do you want some coffee?"

"You know I can never say no to coffee," Donnie said, grateful.

She nodded, and was off.

He turned covertly to watch her go, still wondering. Still wishing.

 _Don't do that. Don't daydream,_ he told himself as he forced his mind to focus on his project.

* * *

In retrospect, April should've probably stayed at home if she really wanted to finish her homework anytime soon. But how was she supposed to know today would get so interesting?

She took a deep breath and released it in a sigh of content as she climbed down the steps to the common room. Nothing kept the blues at bay like feeling useful, and that was never a question with Donnie. She could still feel him—his candid, somewhat withheld attention for her, a warm tingle originating behind her eyes, radiating down her neck to fill her chest. It was a familiar feeling, one that had disturbed her at first because she could neither understand nor return it. But now it felt good. It made her feel like she mattered.

Usually she kept her psychic abilities on a leash, as she was still learning to control them. Not to mention, however useful they proved at times, they still reminded her of what she was. And frankly she wasn't sure it was completely ethical, peeking into people's minds like that. But sometimes, just to try, she would set those abilities lose, and let them run through the field, and they would pick up the most curious sensations for her. Today she had done this, and aside from the already established adoration emanating from her friend to her, she had also found herself waist deep in a refreshing pool of scientific zeal. It was the feeling of Donnie's mind when he was at his best, immersed in some particularly exciting new project. She liked being near when that happened.

She was so glad she decided to come, she had almost forgotten about her fight with her father, or the reason behind it — _almost_ , she thought, remembering that brief moment in the lab when she suddenly wanted to… Well, even she didn't know  _what_ she would have done or said, but it didn't matter anyway. Just a minor lapse.

Still it never ceased to amaze her, how much better she felt the second she walked past the turnstiles to join her strange family, where she could be her strange self and nobody would ever judge her for it. At least when she was here, she could stop pretending. She tried to hold on to this feeling, wishing she could fasten it tight around herself so it would never go away.

On her way to the kitchen she crossed paths with Leo, who seemed to be just back from parking the Party Wagon. The others must have already been through there. Mikey's muffled singing in the distance confirmed it.

"You guys back already? Any luck?" she asked Leo.

"Nothing. The docks were too busy, we couldn't go in," he replied like that had been exactly what he had expected. "No Purple Dragons either, though. We'll just have to try again after dark."

April nodded, then Leo continued towards the dojo, no doubt to inform Splinter, and she headed for the kitchen.

The fridge door closed just as April stepped through the drapes and Karai spun around to look at her holding a can with Japanese print on it.

"Hey there, princess," she sang.

April shot Karai a jaded look, but smiled, already so very used to her teasing.

"Hello, Karai," she said with overstressed formality, walking past her to the coffee maker atop the counter. "Leo says you had no luck."

Karai did a vain little roll with her shoulders. "I already knew it was going to be a waste of time, but I needed some fresh air."

"What are you drinking?"

"Wasabi soda," Karai replied, pulling the tab, and the can opened with a hiss. "It's imported. I got it from Murakami. Guy was really cool about it, I can never find these anywhere. Wanna try some?"

"Wasabi soda?" April's nose crinkled with uncertainty, detecting a faint smell of the stuff. "Uhh… Maybe next time, Karai. Right now I think I'd rather keep my stomach lining. But thanks!"

As she poured the ground coffee into the filter, she could see Karai taking one step towards the exit, about to leave. Then, Karai stopped and sat on one of the stools instead, and said conversationally, "So you and Donnie are working on that portal thing, huh? Pretty exciting."

"Yeah, you should see the stuff Donnie showed me. It's amazing!"

"Not really my thing, science. I'll leave that to you two nerds."

"I thought you'd know better than to mock the nerds," April joked as she filled the machine with water and turned it on, but inside she was waiting for Karai's next move which was sure to come. She could sense it—the sword's shadow before it struck. When April turned, there was the tiniest twinkle in Karai's eyes, before she tipped the can to take a sip, that had  _nothing_ to do with the current small talk.

April went to the cabinet and took out two mugs, then went for the sugar, keeping herself busy—until Karai set the can on the table with a sound like a starting pistol and leaned forward like a jockey. "So while I was working on my new armor in Donnie's lab the other day, he and I were talking…"

 _Uh-oh, there it is. Where are you going with this?_  April thought as she turned to face Karai.

"He told me about that music box he made you."

April blanched. The music box… That was certainly something she hadn't thought about in some time. In fact, she tried not to, mainly to avoid the feelings of shame and the horrible, gut twisting guilt.

"Oh. He did, huh?" she said, hoping to sound like the proud owner of said music box, and she leaned back on the counter trying not to give herself away. Karai's tone was  _too_ friendly...

"Yeah, it sounded nice. I'd love to see it. You still have it?"

"Uh, sure. It's at home," April lied quickly. "But I'd rather not move it, you know. It's a bit big and kinda delicate."

The lie was propped on a scaffolding made of toothpicks and glue. If Karai decided that she wanted to see the music box, then April was all but screwed.

Just as she feared, Karai's lips started twisting into a wicked smile and April gulped, her mouth suddenly very dry.

"Save it, April," Karai said at last through her smug grin. "I know you don't have it."

"What? What do you mean?" April said, hopelessly holding on to her brittle lie even when she knew it was a losing game. Because this was Karai, and Karai liked to play, and she could just be making everything up so April would spill.

But then Karai said, "Donnie has it. It was in his closet," and April frowned in thought, because she hadn't expected  _that_. Karai's voice had sounded almost sweet before she took another sip of her drink, eyes peering at April over the can.

"He- He has it? How-?" April said, unable to hide her bewilderment.

That was not true, it couldn't be. It had to be one of Karai's little games, and April chastised herself when she realized she had fallen right into her trap, admitting to the crime before even knowing what she was being charged with. If that was it, she had no idea what Karai could ever hope to achieve with a cruel joke such as this. Donnie didn't have it. That music box was lost, back at the farmhouse. Wasn't it?

"Well, he says you didn't want it and he took it back," Karai started to say and April gaped in disbelief, "but knowing you two, I had a hunch it might have been some kind of misunderstanding, so I thought I'd play you for a bit and find out. You guys are too cute, seriously... "

It took April a moment to notice the sound of the coffee brewing at her back. She turned to make sure the pot was in place, taking the opportunity to collect herself, and her heart skipped a beat when she realized what this meant. If what Karai said was true, then…  _Oh, man._

"I knew that had to be it," Karai said merrily behind her, and April could hear the smirk in her voice. "You thought you had lost Donnie's gift, didn't you? And now it's totally a romantic comedy!"

The burn of embarrassment rose in April's throat, spreading through her cheeks like wildfire. She turned back to Karai and cast her a demanding glare.

"How do  _you_ know about this?"

Karai shrugged one shoulder, obviously completely at ease with everything, soda can dangling loosely from one hand.

"It wasn't so much that Donnie told me about it and more like I accidentally found it in his closet. You should've seen his face, poor guy," she chuckled, and the sound sent a fleeting jolt of anger through April. "Anyway, I put two and two together. You didn't seem the type to just reject something like that."

"I  _didn't_ reject it. Well… not exactly... I mean, the music box was a bit much…" April confessed, and she couldn't help cringing at the memory of that day.  _So_ awkward...

"Yeah, that's what I told him," Karai laughed, but April didn't care anymore that Karai couldn't hold a conversation without making a joke out of everything. All her thoughts were on Donatello now, her heart shrivelling as she imagined what this must have meant to him.

"Oh, no… Poor Donnie…" April sunk into one of the stools and covered her eyes. "All this time I thought I'd lost it, and it turns out he'd just taken it back. He must've thought I hated it."

"Didn't you?"

"No!" April cried, and slapped a hand over her mouth, praying nobody heard that. She whispered at Karai, "I mean, I didn't  _love_ the gift itself, but… I didn't want him to think that I hated it, so I didn't tell him that I'd lost it. It must have killed him that I didn't even seem to miss it after he took it back… Oh, this is terrible!" April buried her face in her hands, muffling her groans of anguish into her palms.  _Stupid!_

"So now all you gotta do is tell him, right?" Karai said, and April lifted her gaze to find she was looking at her with something other than playfulness or mischief. Only a shadow of her previous smirk remained. April felt her arms prickle with Karai's alertness. She was expectant…

But April hesitated, casting her eyes towards the floor, thinking. Yes, of course. She had to explain this to Donnie. How she was going to go about it, she didn't know— _hey, Donnie, funny story: remember that music box you thought I hated?_  But that music box was hers, she wanted it back! Of course she wanted it back! She felt a sudden thrill at the thought of revealing this to Donnie, how much relief it was going to bring him, and warm anticipation trickled up the back of her neck.

But then she reeled, because nothing was ever as simple, and if April was going to bring up the music box, then one topic was bound to lead to another, and suddenly she could find herself trying to explain certain recent… events. Was she ready to tell him  _everything_? she wondered, and suddenly felt sick.

After all, was it really the right moment to bring up his gift to her? They were about to be visited by their future selves, and that was disquieting enough. Would it really help anybody if April started this conversation with Donnie  _now_ of all times, when everybody needed him at the top of his game? If she had only asked Donnie about the music box when she thought she'd lost it...

Remembering that she wasn't alone in the room, April looked up from the floor and met Karai's watchful eyes. She was still patiently awaiting her reply like a hawk, probably watching every little gesture and counting the goosebumps on April's arms.

"Um… Yeah, I will," April managed to say, and seeing the unconvinced look on Karai's face, she continued, "Not right now, but I will. Meanwhile, please, just don't say  _anything_ about this to anyone _. Please_."

Karai scoffed, and April felt the strongest urge to ask what the hell she meant by it. She only stopped herself because of the certainty that she would regret it.

"Why wouldn't you just tell him now? You got something to hide?" Karai asked, none too gently.

April was trying very hard not to go into certain subjects. Why did things have to get so complicated? She just wanted to get her ideas straight, see how it went with Casey, figure out some things with her dad before talking to Donnie or anyone. She still didn't even know what she was going to tell him on any of those fronts. She just needed time to think! Karai couldn't have waited just a week or two for this, could she?

"It's just not the best time for me," April said with finality.

"Does that mean you and Casey hooked up?" Karai asked suddenly, her grin turned wicked, and April felt herself riling up by the second.

"No, we did not  _hook up_ ," she snapped, and bit back an incoming ' _yet'_.

"Really? Then what is the deal with you? You're honestly hard to figure out, and that's coming from  _me_ ," Karai said in an air of sufficiency, then adopted a look of pity. "I can only imagine how the dudes feel."

April blew a loud guffaw. Out of all people,  _she_ had  _no_ right.

"You're one to talk, Karai," she said drily, and witnessed the immediate effect. Karai's grin drooped, all hint of humor draining from her face.

"Watch it, princess," she said, and the danger in her voice—that murderous glint in her eyes —almost put April into flight mode. Hell, if she had to choose between physically fighting the old Karai or being interrogated by the  _new_ Karai, she'd have to really think about it. Right now she felt like she was getting a combo of both.

Fine. If there was something April and Karai had in common, it was their bullheadedness. April returned the death glare and held it,  _held it_ , refusing to bow down.

And just when she thought Karai would have grabbed her by the throat next, a slow smile started to form on Karai's face. Suddenly she started laughing. She laughed loudly with that villainous laugh she hadn't quite grown out of yet, and April shook her head slowly in disbelief.

Well, at least she'd live to tell the tale…

"Nice death glare," Karai said jubilantly, punching April on the shoulder, and April had to remind her body that this wasn't old Karai and she wasn't in any danger—not mortal anyway. "You did go a bit cross-eyed though. Gotta work on that."

April didn't have it in her to retort. She was just hoping Karai would leave it at that, and then maybe April could go about guilt-tripping herself in peace.

Karai stood, gulping down the last of her drink before tossing the can in the recycle bin. "Anyway, I suppose your love life really is none of my business, right?" Karai said blithely, and April felt some relief; enough that she regretted ending the conversation on such a sour note—even if Karai hadn't been entirely graceful about it either.

"Karai," April said, stopping her before she reached the curtains. "Sorry about that. I'm sure you're just looking out for Donnie."

"Sure, that's a good reason. But really, it's just a lot of fun as well."

 _I guess that's her way of showing she cares_ , April realized, and that made her smile.

"Right…" she said, eyebrows raised in a show of skepticism. "But you have to promise that you'll let  _me_ tell him. This is between us."

"Pfft. Fine," Karai agreed, and April felt herself relax a little. She hadn't realized how tense she was. But Karai continued confidentially. "On one condition, though: that you'll let me in on the details later."

April chuckled. If girl talk is what it took to gain Karai's silence, then it was a small price to pay. "I'll see what I can do," she said, and that seemed to be enough for Karai, who winked, smiling her lopsided smirk.

"Catch you later, princess!"

And she was off, leaving April where she sat on the stool, slumping forward over the table, feeling as if she'd just made it several blocks escaping from Karai's fury just to have Karai catch up to her, laugh it off and send her home with a diploma and a complimentary box of chocolates.  _Will I ever get the hang of talking to you, Karai?_

There was a soft mewl, muffled behind the freezer door. April chuckled to herself. "I'm a doofus, Kitty," she said pitifully, and was rewarded with a curious "Murr?"

Something sprung into mind and she swivelled around. The coffee pot was on the counter, getting cold. She willed herself to move and finally carried the two mugs to the lab.

Before entering she stood at the threshold, where she could see Donnie's shell and mask tails shimmy about at the desk as he mumbled excitedly to himself. He'd taken out the soldering iron and the smell of burning metal mixed with the coffee—which seemed about right for the lab.

When she finally made up her mind to enter, Donnie greeted her like she was a gift from the heavens, as usual. As if she could do no wrong.  _Why?_  April thought.  _Why would you even still like me? How are you still talking to me?_

"Cheers!" Donnie said, surprising her a little, clinking his mug against hers and taking a sip. "Hey, you think you can get me another one of those flux pens? This one's running out. Gonna be doing a lot of soldering."

"Sure."

April noticed Donnie's gaze lingering on her. "All good?" he asked, and she made her best to look as happy and casual as he'd last seen her not even ten minutes ago.

"Yeah, uh... Leo said the docks were too busy," she said, shrugging, and Donnie made a "called-it" face. "I just took a little longer because Karai was in the kitchen and we chatted for a bit." She made her way back to her corner of the desk in front of her books.

"Uh-oh, that can't be good." Donnie laughed, but thankfully didn't delve, as he picked up the iron again, adjusted his goggles and continued working. "I'll probably need some help in a few minutes if that's alright."

"Of course." April sat in her corner watching him covertly.

She wanted to tell him. She wanted to tell him so bad… She even took a deep breath to speak— _I have something to tell you, Donnie_ —, but the air got stuck inside her. When she finally released it, it was in the form of a sigh, slow and contained, so Donnie wouldn't notice.

Addressing their relationship now could jeopardize everything. It was best to wait until this whole thing blew over. April knew it was unfair, and it probably wasn't the best thing to do, hiding things from him like this. It made her feel cowardly and wrong. But it was the best solution she could think of. She promised Donnie and herself, in her mind, that she would tell him everything soon—the music box, Casey, her dad...

 _Maybe I should make a checklist,_  her inner voice said bitterly.

It had been one year. It could wait a few more days, and then she would sit down with him and tell him everything, and Donnie would understand if she explained. Frankly she couldn't wait to get it off of her chest.

For the remainder of the afternoon, she made herself busy with her homework, if only to have an excuse for being silent to try to organize her thoughts, getting up occasionally to assist Donnie. Barely able to concentrate, her mind and her eyes wandered about the room until eventually she saw it. There it was, peeking at her from atop of the closet. It was right there after all and it had been there all along.

_I'm such a doofus._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And remember! Reviews are writer chow!
> 
> Thanks, guys! :D


	14. Chapter 14

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The guys run into some pretty interesting people…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, plot!
> 
> As always, huge thanks to our beta readers, Queequegg and Theherocomplex!

[](https://ibb.co/XVCQfC7)

 

Leo was last out into the chilly night air, following Karai down from the office window above the cookie factory. They landed soundlessly in the back alley, where their other three brothers waited for orders around the fire escape ladder.

It was late. So late, in fact, it had been early for a while; pretty soon the buses would be up and running again. This second outing had proven as fruitless as the first: they still hadn't tracked down a single canister of mutagen, not counting the faint traces left back at the warehouse in the docks where they first looked, and Leo's resolve was slowly vanishing with every passing hour.

None of this was really a surprise; the Purple Dragons had had plenty of time to move it since Raph and Casey were there last night, and now Leo and the rest of the Hamato siblings had nothing but mere speculation as to what the Purple Dragons would want with mutagen or who they were keeping it for. They considered the usual suspects, of course—Shredder and his resident mad scientist Stockman, or even some leftover Kraang that might have been sitting low waiting for their chance—but they had  _no_ leads. He'd rather know more before they went knocking at Shredder's doorstep.

"Well, another dud," Leo said tiredly, walking up to the group with Karai.

"Yeah, no kidding. Remind me to bring a magazine or something next time I'm on patrol with you guys. The  _tedium_ ," she moaned.

"At least we got  _these_ ," Mikey slurred, eyes glossy from a recent yawn, and ripped open a two pound bag of fortune cookies.

Leo had no energy to be mad that Mikey had stolen that from the factory. It really was a marvelous thing, Mikey's stomach. After stuffing himself dizzy on Chee-Z Balls from the Auman Chemicals factory behind Leo's back—perhaps thinking Leo wouldn't notice the orange on his lips or the artificial cheese in his breath—he still had room for more. There he was, popping cookies in his mouth while gently rocking on his feet with his eyes closed, as though lulling himself to sleep with the crunching and his own soft sounds of delight.

"Donnie? Any readings?" Leo asked his other brother, trying to ignore the noises coming from Mikey's side, and Donnie took one fleeting look at the tracker.

"No..." he replied monotonously for the eightieth time that night.

Raph groaned. "Urrrgh! This is pointless, Leo! We've been running around all night! We've already been to the docks, the Chee-Z balls factory, the cookie factory… and we haven't found  _anything_. Even Casey went home two hours ago. Can we  _please_ just call it a night?"

Leo sighed, unwilling to give in to exhaustion—or Raph's demands, for that matter.

"We have to find that mutagen. Who knows what they might want it for?" Leo said. He was only playing the role of the responsible one out of routine, and because someone had to. In reality, he was as unenthusiastic as the rest of them. If he closed his eyes, he could feel the softness of his futon and the warmth of his blanket… He only needed to give the order and nobody would disagree.

"We're not gonna find it tonight!" Raph insisted. "The Purple Dragons must have left town or something."

"If you had warned us last night instead of slacking off, Raph, we might've still been able to catch up to them then," Leo retorted, unable to hold back the bout of crankiness, and Raph made a sound of annoyance in his throat.

"Right," he grumbled bitterly, "good thing you just told me that, Leo, 'cause I didn't quite hear you the last eight times."

In the background, Mikey bit open another fortune cookie. Leo winced as the  _crack_ resounded noisily around the alley.

"Oh… I forgot fortune cookies had fortunes in them," Mikey said, picking the slimed fortune from between his front teeth. The sight conjured up a chorus of repulsed groans. Leo closed his eyes and imagined himself facepalming, just to satisfy the urge. The only one who seemed mildly entertained by it was Karai. "'If your cookie still in one piece, buy lotto'," Mikey read aloud, squinting and blinking at the tiny roll of paper. "Awww! If only I'd known!"

"Honestly, I'm stumped," Donnie said over the loud chewing sounds that followed. "Raph might be right; it's like the Purple Dragons used their brains for once and actually took the mutagen outside the city, where we can't even track it. I haven't gotten a single reading since we left the warehouse." Donnie gave the device a frustrated backhand.

"Oh, don't worry; it's gonna turn up one way or another..." Raph said, foreboding.

"'Your health is important; eat your vegetables'? The heck kind of a fortune is that?" Mikey exclaimed, glaring at the fortune before crumpling it up to the size of a pea and throwing it scornfully over his shoulder.

Leo made one last big effort to ignore him. "Well, I would rather it not turn up in the form of another mutant. So we're gonna track these guys down no matter what,  _before_ that happens. What time is it?"

Donnie took out his phone and gazed at the screen with sleepy eyes.

"Five-thirteen." He chuckled pitifully. "Ah, this takes me back. Tracking down mutagen all over New York until dawn."

"Good times," Mikey said sleepily, and Leo saw him pull another piece of paper straight out of his mouth and attempt to clean it.

Karai laughed. "Aw, look at you brave boy scouts, out so late. You're just like grownup ninjas, I'm so proud of you."

Raph huffed. "Oh, like  _you're_  not tired, Karai."

"No," Karai said at once, all smiles and confidence, looking as fresh as a daisy. Leo knew it wasn't necessarily true and she would welcome a bed as much as any of them, but he had to admit she knew how to hide it better.

"'You will find love close to home'," Mikey said, his mouth still full and spewing cookie crumbs as he spoke. "Huh. Were any of you guys thinking about eating that one? Donnie?"

Donnie glowered.

"No? Maybe Leo… Or…"

Mikey looked at Raph, and Raph yanked the fortune and the bag of cookies out of Mikey's grip and dumped them down the sewer grate before he could make any suggestions. Leo was immediately torn by overlapped feelings of affront and gratitude.

"You're welcome," Raph announced with crossed arms.

"Bro!" Mikey yelled. "Why'd you have to-"

"Be quiet!" Leo ordered in loud whispers. A dog started barking down the street, probably replying to Mikey's shrill tone of voice. "Do I really have to remind you that this is a stealth mission?"

"But those were my cookies! You had no right!" Mikey still cried, looking at Raph with eyes full of hurt.

"I'm  _sleepy_ ," Raph replied, in a way that said 'sleepy' was not a state in which Raph should ever be messed with.

"Well, so am I, but that's no excuse to be a bag of douches!" Mikey kept defending himself while Donnie just stood by wearing the most I-am-so-done expression.

"It is if your pig brother's munching crackers in your ear at five in the morning! And why don't you learn to curse?"

Leo considered stepping in again, but he knew he would have no authority at the moment. Not while he was fighting just to keep his eyes open, and he felt like he could fall asleep right then and there, on his feet, in the stinking alleyway.

"Alright, you know what?" he said instead, coming between them before Mikey could protest again. "We need to think of a better plan. Let's go home."

The tension lifted instantly with a general sigh of relief and a couple of loud yawns. The group started eagerly climbing the ladder to the rooftop like last-minute shoppers, as if they feared Leo would change his mind if they didn't hurry.

The cool air up top felt good to Leo's numbed senses. There was already a faint glow of cold pink on the horizon, even though the sun wouldn't rise for another hour. The breeze brought with it the distant sound of an alarm clock.

"I can't wait to just drop into bed," Raph said, rolling his shoulders with a wince as they made their way across the roof top.

Then Leo halted midstep.

He felt it more than heard it; an unfamiliar vibration in the air.  _Intruders_.

"Stop." He did not yell. His tone said enough that the entire group froze. Their heads turned to Leo, four pairs of eyes watching him for signs.

"We got company," he said, not in a whisper because it would not have mattered; whoever it was, they already knew his family was there. Leo could tell from the others' eyes that they felt it too, and they all unsheathed their weapons as one.

There was the faintest sound of grazing fabric and Leo swiveled on the spot towards the group of shadows come alive. The shapes marched orderly into plain view, into the light of the streetlamp a few steps from the team, fifteen-or-so black-clad ninjas in hoods. At first, Leo thought "Foot soldiers", but he quickly realised—once he saw their eyes, and their uniforms emblazoned with a lotus blossom—these guys weren't from around here.

The strangers were well armed, but none of them wielded their weapons. Hands limp at their sides, every finger was visible for Leo to see. Karai and his brothers were all waiting for him to give the order.

"Who are these guys? Another ninja clan?" Donnie said behind Leo. Obviously he'd also noticed they weren't the usual company.

Leo didn't respond. He was still trying to figure that one out, and his eyes travelled around the group. A figure stood out from the rest—small, but undeniably dominant. The alleged leader made one motion with a hand to the group, curt—there was no need for a reply—then started moving. Leo tensed, but made another quick signal to his own team to stand their ground. And then the figure standing before him pulled back its hood.

"Ooooh, it's a girl!" Mikey exclaimed.

"Quiet," Leo ordered with a wince. Somehow, it did not feel appropriate to call this person that, no matter how young she appeared to be. She was Asian, probably Japanese, and she looked like a  _warrior_. Her face was stern and robust. Stoic. Her confident stance made her look much taller than she actually was. When she spoke, she did it in a strong, commanding voice, with a heavy Japanese accent.

"My name is Hachisu-no-Hana. We—" and here she motioned firmly at the group of ninjas behind her, "—are the Lotus Clan."

Hachisu-no-Hana knelt, and ceremoniously laid her sheathed katana on the concrete floor in front of her.

"We humbly request to be taken before the sensei of your Hamato Clan for an audience with him," Hachisu-no-Hana went on, still not lifting her head, the tip of her ponytail almost touching the roof. "We wish to discuss a matter that is of great importance for both of our clans. I am sure your master would be most interested."

_Straight to the point,_  thought Leo, impressed.  _So efficient_.

He exchanged a quick look with his team and they lowered their weapons. Each showed a different degree of distrust. Donnie seemed cautious, but the curiosity in his eyes was more than apparent. Mikey was clearly all for it, and Karai seemed wary but intrigued. Raph was never one to hide his disapproval even in the most delicate of situations. He was the last to yield, scowling at the strangers.

Truth be told, none of them were used to this kind of treatment from… anyone, really. After all, the only contact they'd had with other ninjas so far had been with the Foot Clan, and that had never been pleasant or friendly. But the leader of the Lotus Clan still knelt as she waited for their response.

Leonardo decided to honor the gesture, and sheathed his swords. Behind him he could hear the rest do the same as he stepped up to the Lotus leader with what he hoped would be a firm, confident, stance, like hers.

"Miss-" he started, but bit back the rest, fearing he'd screwed up already. "Hachisu-san."  _That's better._  "How do you know we're Hamato clan?"

The woman reached inside her sash while still kneeling, and held the engraved shuriken up for all to see.

"We saw two of your... men yesterday." The word 'men' came laced with doubt, but there was no impertinence in her gesture. "We have looked everywhere for you since then."

Leo glanced backwards at Raph, who shrugged.

"And what exactly is this matter with Master Sp- that is so important to the Hamato Clan?"

"I would prefer to discuss it with him directly," she said, bowing her head in a show of modesty, after which she lifted her onyx-black eyes and laid them on Leo. She was clearly studying him, a surprising disregard for all protocol, and he felt himself freeze under the woman's penetrating gaze as it danced over his face. He couldn't help but feel a little self conscious of the green on his skin and the shell on his back.

At last she blinked, and sat up straight. "Forgive me. How will I refer to you, nakama?"

"Leo. I mean, Leonardo… Leonardo." He watched the faintest of smiles form on the woman's lips, and swallowed.

"Leonardo-san," she said kindly. "I assure you, our intentions are completely honorable. We mean your clan no harm. But it is of great importance that we talk to your sensei."

He nodded.

"Hey, fearless leader!"

Leo's body tensed like a bow as Raph's cry  _obliterated_ the mood. He turned to throw him a murderous look, one that said "you will regret that later", and found Donnie also approaching him.

"Sorry, Leo. Can we talk for a moment?" Donnie's voice and mannerisms told him his brother was in full business mode.

Wanting nothing more than to sink through the roof, Leo offered the Lotus a brief bow of his head, avoiding Hachisu-no-Hana's eyes, and begrudgingly joined his squad in their circle. Why did they feel the need to embarrass themselves in front of such solemn company? The rest of the Lotus Clan hadn't moved a pinky. They were all standing still as statues on the spot and in reverent silence as their leader spoke. They did as was expected of loyal followers. They were  _professionals._

"What is it?" Leo hissed through gritted teeth.

"Look, nevermind what they say," Donnie began, "we don't  _know_ who these guys are or what they really want. You could be blithely sharing tea and cookies with her, and for all we know the rest of her clan would be chopping off Splinter's head meanwhile and delivering it to the Shredder."

"Yeah, I know her type," Karai said, for once not making jokes. In fact, she didn't look the least bit happy. "And believe me; this girl might be all manners and protocol, but that doesn't make her trustworthy."

"And why did you think I need  _you_ to tell me this?" squawked Leo, and immediately bit his lips knowing he'd been a little too loud.

"I saw you, Leo!" Raph said. "You would've agreed to give this woman a piggy-back ride to the lair if we hadn't cut you off. You think we don't remember your little run-ins with Miss Sunshine over here?" He jerked an angry thumb at Karai, who only nodded in agreement.

"You really were such easy prey," she said, hands on her hips and eyebrows raised cockily, and a burning blush rose to Leo's cheeks, fueled by both humiliation and a sense of betrayal at Karai's words.

"This is nothing like that," he gritted out, resisting the urge to yell at both of them.

Donnie came between them like a waving white flag.

"They said they were the 'Lotus clan'. Come to think of it, didn't Splinter mention them sometime?"

Leo thought back. "Yeah, sounds familiar," he said, though he couldn't confirm it. It must have been a long time ago, in one of Master Splinter's many tales.

"But I thought there weren't supposed to be any more ninja clans remaining," Raph insisted, still suspicious.

"Well, can you really know with ninjas? I mean maybe they chose to exist in complete shadows, like us," Leo offered, but the rest didn't look half convinced.

"All we're saying is, let's be careful," Donnie said slowly. "We can just tell them we'll consult this with Splinter and watch that they don't follow us."

"I know what to do!" Leo snapped, offended that his brothers would think he'd be so stupid as to take a bunch of strangers—ninjas, no less—to their home just like that.

"Ok then, go ahead," Donnie offered as he retreated into his position two steps behind and Leo started to turn back towards the group of newcomers.

"Thank you," Leo whispered tersely, shooting a glance of indignation at the empty space left by Donnie, then turned his gaze back to Hachisu-no-Hana. She was still kneeling in the same position, waiting patiently. He cleared his throat before proceeding to make sure his mouth would make the right sounds.

"Alright, Hachisu-no-Hana-san. We will take your word to our master and we will meet you back here tomorrow at sundown to communicate his decision."

"That is fair," Hachisu-no-Hana said, picking up her weapon as she stood. She was so tiny, but also kind of scary: her straight expression and keen eyes said "I could crush you with my pinky, but I won't… for now."

"Do not follow us," Leo said with all the composure that he was able to gather, but careful to keep it cordial. "I'm sure you don't need to hear how such a thing would be rude and would mean an immediate termination of our agreement."

"We would not dream of it," Hachisu-no-Hana obliged kindly.

He nodded. "Until tomorrow, then."

"Until tomorrow, Leonardo-san," the Lotus leader said, bowing.

Leo mirrored her as symmetrically as he was able. There was a ruffle of air and when he lifted his head, the Lotus Clan was gone.

"Whoaaaa," Mikey gasped. "Are we this awesome-looking from the outside too? I bet we totally are!" he said through an ample smile, adopting an epic pose worthy of a Crognard poster. "I'll have to ask Casey!"

"As fierce and graceful as sailor scouts," Karai joked. Mikey seemed to think that was a good thing, judging by the glimmer in his eyes. As for Leo, Karai's continued mocking was setting his teeth on edge.

"I dunno, there might be room for some improvement," he scoffed, and obviously the comment wasn't lost on his siblings, Mikey coming down from his hype with a confused frown.

"What the hell does that mean?" Raph demanded.

"I  _mean_ why did you guys have to embarrass me like that in front of other ninjas?" At first Leo hadn't realized how terrible that had sounded out loud, but he was made perfectly aware by Raph's sudden burst of laughter.

"Oh, are we not honorable enough for your honorable ninja club?" he mocked, wiggling his fingers, and Leo had to take a deep breath and a step back to keep himself from snapping. Donnie and Mikey looked between them, wincing, but neither stepped in. Leo had to settle for a sigh of resignation.

And as it couldn't be otherwise, Karai laughed. "You're so cute when you try to act all samurai."

Leo chose silence.  _Just let them finish. If you don't say anything else eventually they'll run out of things to make fun of_ , he told himself, too sleepy to come up with a more dignified way out of there.

"Don't take it like that, bro. It went well, right?" Raph said once he was done laughing, giving Leo a resounding smack on the shell—his idea of a truce.

Leo only offered back a glare and started walking.

"Let's just go home already before the Foot show up to complete our night," he said, and jumped the gap to the next rooftop.

* * *

Leo couldn't remember how he had gotten there, alone with Hachisu-no-Hana-no-Hana in that empty void. She was just standing there in the half-light, muttering something he couldn't really make out.

"Speak up," he asked, before realizing maybe she was speaking Japanese, and he strained his ears. She was chanting. The words made no sense, but they must have been important. Leo saw her pull out a couple of objects from her sash and she held them up like talismans. They were one of those kawaii mochi with faces, but these ones… these ones were  _powerful_. The way she was holding them, drawing complex symbols in the air with them as she chanted the words… Leo was mesmerized. Hachisu-no-Hana's eyes were intent on his, and she was moving purposefully slow while Leo struggled to keep up.

Finally she stopped, and then extended her two hands with the smiling mochi towards Leo.

_Uh-oh_ , Leo thought as he accepted the mochi with hands that shook.  _She wants me to do it now. What were the words? I can't remember!_

After a few failed attempts at starting the ritual, he saw Hachisu-no-Hana slowly shake her head in deep disapproval. He was only embarrassing himself, now completely lost and panicking. His voice suddenly broke, and he clamped his mouth shut, mortified.

Hachisu-no-Hana laughed. Then she slowly lifted one hand, showing it to him before reaching up to her forehead, and Leo watched carefully.  _What is she…?_

The hand fumbled for a bit at the hairline, and when it came down, it dragged with it a zipper, and her face split in half. By the time it was down to her chest, Leo could already see Karai's head emerging from the Hachisu-no-Hana suit, still smirking.

The rest of the suit fell to the ground like a rubber glove— _flop_ —and now Karai stood before Leo wearing a beautiful ball gown, sprinkled not with sequins, but with thousands of tiny rivets that glinted in the moonlight like a galaxy. She spun around to offer Leo a better view of her body and the way that dress fit her perfectly. She looked astonishing

"C'mon Leo, show me those moves," she said, extending a hand towards him.

She wanted to dance, so Leo stepped up to happily oblige as a spunky country song started blaring all around them.

"I'll lead," she said, and Leo was perfectly okay with it. He couldn't dance anyway, she might as well. Maybe if he tried to follow her moves he could pass for half decent in front of all these people **.** He thought he was doing pretty good, and Karai seemed pleased. But then in between swirls he noticed some people starting to point and giggle, and he looked down on himself. No wonder they were laughing! His tuxedo jacket and bow-tie were pristine, but he had completely forgotten to put on pants!

Leo woke up with a start, and his head bobbed up as he lifted his eyes to look at Splinter.

It took him a moment to place himself. He was in the dojo, kneeling on the carpet. It was early morning, and he had been waiting for Master Splinter to get up so he could tell him about their encounter with the Lotus, when he had seemingly nodded off.

"Is something the matter, my son?" Splinter asked, sliding his door closed behind him. "You seem a bit distraught."

"It was nothing, Master Splinter, just a...  _really weird dream_ ," Leo said, rubbing his neck, trying to shake the ludicrous images off his mind.

Splinter nodded, and pulled on his beard like he always did when he was deducing things. "And there is something you wish to tell me?"

"Hai, sensei," Leo said, and heaved himself to his feet with no small amount of effort. "We didn't find the mutagen, but we did run into some pretty interesting people…"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mmm yes, something is brewing. So what do you think of these newcomers? What are their intentions? How is their arrival going to affect the Hamatos?
> 
> Psst! Kudos are nice. But comments give a writer LIFE!


	15. Chapter 15

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Relationships are hard, man...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Enjoy some Capriltello friendship development, and then Leorai shenanigans! A little interlude before shit starts really going down.
> 
> The usual big thanks to our beta readers Queequegg and TheHeroComplex! *mwa*

The turtles were just clearing up the breakfast table when April arrived after school. Apparently they'd been trotting around Manhattan long after she and Casey had gone home last night—her father didn't look happy to see her arrive so late— and even then, there had been no luck finding the mutagen. But it hadn't all been pointless; they told her about a new ninja clan they encountered, and the way they described the mysterious newcomers made her a little jealous she hadn't been there. Mikey and Leo seemed particularly enraptured by their professed awesomeness.

She was thrilled to know the guys would be going out to meet them again at sundown, which meant she could come with. Until then, April figured it was the perfect time to have that study session Donnie had offered a few days ago—her big Algebra exam was approaching fast. Refusing to let the fact that she and Casey had gone on a secret date together change anything, she made herself act like it was just another study date in the lab. Before going through the big metal doors, April simply gave Casey a warning look, hoping he got the message.  _Not a word, Jones._ He pressed his lips, but didn't protest.

Donnie seemed only briefly disappointed that he would have to set aside working on the portal, but immediately backpedaled, assuring them he could actually use the break. He cleared up his desk of all the portal entrails, wires and chips and other mysterious components, brought three stools from the kitchen, and they got down to business.

It went pretty well… for like the first fifteen minutes.

Not like Casey would ever pick up a textbook with any amount of enthusiasm, but at least he gave it a try. Now, almost one hour in, Casey's patience was long depleted, and there were still many, many equations left to go.

"Come on, Jones,  _focus_! What's the value of Y?" Donnie asked for the jillionth time that afternoon, impatiently tapping the page, and April looked at Casey in search for a sign that any of this was sticking.  _Any at all_. But Casey only let out an exasperated sigh.

"Who gives a shit, man…"

April groaned inwardly, trying to keep her frustration hidden. The study session wasn't turning out as fruitful as she had originally intended. This always happened: they got together to be productive and then Casey just… quit. It was as if she'd never really stopped being Casey's tutor, ever since she was assigned him last school year.

It didn't help that it was such a nice day out either. Spring was in full bloom and it showed even in the deepest corners of the lair. The warm air filtered through the grates, bringing in some pollen particles that floated about and got in their hair. Even a bee had made it down there somehow, looking terribly lost. And there  _they_ were, just like that bee, unable to move forward to the next set of problems.

Gathering all her patience, she leaned forward. "Here, remember what we have to do with this fraction?"

"I have no idea," Casey said, not even looking at the page.

"At least try to get this one equation," April pleaded, laying an encouraging hand on Casey's shoulder. Casey grunted and gave the problem a short glance, but then he shoved the book away.

"This is  _impossible_! I hate algebra."

"You're almost at the end of the year, you  _know_ how important it is that you pass this," Donnie said in a parenty voice. April winced a little, because it was the kind of voice Casey despised.

Sure enough, he growled, "I know! Okay? I'm just… blank!"

Donnie's tongue clucked noisily, voicing his obvious despair. As much as she knew Donnie meant well, he wasn't the most patient teacher with a more challenging student, and wouldn't realize he was actually doing the opposite of helping. If she'd learned anything, it was that the more they pushed, the less Casey tried.

April decided to change strategies. Holding up a finger, she signalled Donnie to take a step back and let her try. He obliged, a little begrudgingly, and she scooched her stool closer to Casey. "Here," she offered kindly as she led him through the problem, writing it down step by step, from scratch. "See, we use this equation to solve for Z: fifty-two. And now we use that to solve for Y. So what's the value of Y, then?"

She left the last step open for Casey, who had reluctantly leaned forward, hopefully to try and follow. There was a twinkle in his eye that April recognized as a light bulb coming on in his head, and he picked up the pencil. She watched, holding her breath, as he scribbled the division in his chaotic handwriting, quickly as though he feared the solution would flee from his mind if he didn't hurry.

"Is that it?" he asked finally, lifting the pencil from the page and seeking approval in her eyes.

April celebrated before Casey was even done asking. "Yes! You got it!" She offered Casey a high-five that he met a little too enthusiastically, leaving a prickly feeling on April's palm even with his gloves on. She shook it off, laughing.

"Holy crap, I got it!" he proclaimed, throwing punches at the air. "Who's the block-head now?"

Donnie gave a cautious chuckle of celebration. "See? That wasn't so hard."

"That's right, foo'! Not even algebra can stop Casey Jones now!" Casey roared, shoving a finger at the solved equation.

"Great! Then Casey Jones can totally handle four more pages!" Donnie replied, smiling like a door-to-door salesperson and Casey faltered, looking somewhat less confident.

"Uh, I think we earned a little break, don't you? Huh, Professor D?" Casey countered, optimistically rising from his chair and nudging Donnie's side.

But Donnie had the face of a teacher who took no bullshit, no ass-kissing, and no bribes. "See that clock, Jones?" he said, pointing towards the aforementioned device hanging from the wall. "You can take a break when the hour is up like we agreed."

"That's like 10 whole minutes!" Casey whined, plummeting back into his seat.

April released a snort. "Come on, 'Professor', it's only ten minutes, and we can  _all_ use a break."

The professor rolled his eyes, drawling, "Fine...", and at once Casey pushed himself away from the table. "But I hope you put more effort into the next hour, Casey," Donnie warned.

"Cut me some slack, Don. You know I'm not smart enough for this...  _junk_ ," he said, motioning at the homework like a pile of manure.

"Don't give me that, you're just not interested." Donnie looked at him with his arms crossed.

"That too," Casey muttered, stretching. The sight was infectious, and April stretched in her seat as well.

"Man, I need some caffeine," Casey said, cracking his neck and sounding more exhausted than if he'd been out all night clubbing heads.

April wasn't surprised to hear Donnie's sound of approval at the mention of the word.

"That's one thing we can agree on! I think we have some Wake Up in the fridge," he said, starting towards the door, but then there was a sound of slipping fabric and something toppled to the ground with a resounding boom as Donnie stumbled forward a couple of steps. April almost fell off her stool from the start, and looked down to see her backpack on the floor, one strap tangled around Donnie's ankle.

"Nice goin', elephant feet." Casey laughed with zero delicacy, like he always did when he referred to any aspect of Donnie's unique mutant physiology. Luckily, a lot had happened since the old days when that would enrage Donnie, and the turtle only gave him a sideways glare as he righted himself, Casey bending down to pick up the backpack.

"Damn, what do you have in here, bricks?" Casey said to April, weighing the bag in both hands before dropping it in front of her with a dry thunk. Immediately, she could tell Donnie had caught sight of the contents, and before she could reply he was already stretching his long neck over their shoulders to get a closer look.

"Wait! Is that  _The Way Things Work_  by David Macaulay?" he said, big eyes intent on the cover peeking through the top of the bag. "I know that book, it's a classic!"

April hesitated for a split-second, because she hadn't planned to let him see it yet. A part of her wasn't sure about letting Casey see Donnie get a present from her, even when it was barely a present. But she tossed the thought aside. This was ridiculous! Was she not going to be able to be herself around either of them anymore? she complained to herself, wondering when she'd started worrying so much.

Determined not to let her anxiety dominate her, she took out the book, which was heavy enough to level asphalt, and handed it out to Donnie.

"Oh yeah," she said as though she'd just remembered. "I brought it for you, Donnie."

"For me?" Donnie said, open-mouthed as he hesitantly extended his hands towards it, like he couldn't believe it. April nudged the book at him so he finally wrapped his fingers around the edges, as gingerly as if he was holding a puppy.

"It's nothing, really," she said, trying to play it down despite herself with a swift side glance at Casey, relieved to see no signs of outrage on his face. "Dad and I were doing some spring cleaning and I rescued this from the bottom of a trunk. I thought you'd like it, and Dad said you could have it."

"Really? Wow! Thanks so much!" He gazed at the heavy book in his hands, holding it aloft like some priceless treasure found in an ancient tomb.

"It's pretty old," April said sadly, grazing a gentle finger against the cracks on the spine. "The edges are a bit worn, and I tried to straighten all the dog eared pages..."

"Trust me, down here this is considered 'like new'. Your dad's the best. Give him my thanks too!"

Donnie was  _beaming_. He looked so happy, and April couldn't help the little prick of regret at his words, wondering if he would still think so highly of her dad if he knew what his opinion was on April hanging out with them. Once again, she had to shake the thought away, and watched as Donnie opened the book, flipping through some pages under the only mildly interested gaze of Casey. At one drawing of a mammoth wearing a pair of goggles much like his own, he let out a chuckle that gave April butterflies.

"This book is like the 'Where the Wild Things Are' of engineering. The level, of course, is  _elementary_ , but you gotta love the way it's illustrated."

"You're such a show-off, Donnie," Casey said with a grimace.

"And you're one to talk,  _Casey Jones_!" Donnie retorted, only momentarily lifting his eyes off the book. "Besides, I'm not being a show-off when it's true. That's just being observant."

Casey retaliated with a guffaw. "You would get so many wedgies in school, dude."

But Donnie barked a laugh of his own, like that was never even a concern. "I'd like to see them try," he said cockily, picking up a nearby wrench and performing a few juggling moves before striking a heroic pose, flexing a couple of pretty impressive biceps. April shook her head, chuckling into the neck of her shirt, and Casey looked at him with a half smile.

"Trust me, dude. High school is fucked up.  _Especially_ for the nerds," Casey went on, and April made a little sound of agreement at the observation, which definitely had some truth to it.

But Donnie got up, book in hand, and she could tell he was pointedly ignoring their claims, as though he didn't want to taint his ideal image of school. He held the book to his snout and took a deep whiff.

"Mmm, I love it when books smell like paper instead of dumpster," he said, and the corner of April's mouth quirked upwards to see him so excited about something so simple. Sometimes she forgot the turtles had lived secluded in their sewers the first fifteen years of their lives. They were amazingly well-adapted, all things considered. "Lemme put it away in my room. I'm gonna give this bad boy a read tonight."

"Get the Wake Up while you're at it, Donnie," Casey called out as the turtle made his way to the exit.

"Right, right. And for you, April?" he asked her. His face lit up when he looked at her.

"No, thanks," she replied with a smile. She wasn't much of a fan of that stuff, which she always found looked and tasted like pee.

Donnie nodded. "Be right back," he said before heading out the big lab doors to the common room.

And then it was April and Casey alone together, something which—now that April thought about it—hadn't really happened since their date.

They'd been around each other, and they'd exchanged a few words, sure, but the subject hadn't come up in these past couple of days. Not like they could've discussed with the guys around.

The truth was, April wasn't sure  _what_ to say. She was afraid Casey would be annoyed with her for her indecision, angry even. As for her… Well, the date itself had been a bit of a disaster, although she blamed a lot of it on Casey getting pummeled, consequently making them miss the movie, and her being in a dismal mood as a result. She couldn't really form a fair conclusion around those factors. The amount of excitement on her part might have been a bit underwhelming, but maybe she was just nervous...

Sure enough, once Donnie was out of earshot, Casey sat and leaned in close to speak in a low voice. "Hey, so I was thinking we could try that second date tomorrow or something," he said, topping off the words with a wink.

April shifted a little uncomfortably, glancing over at the lab doors in fear of anyone overhearing. She was happy to see Casey wasn't holding anything against her though, which left room for maneuvering. "Actually, I already said I would help with the portal tomorrow too," she whispered, shrugging, after making sure no one would hear.

"Alright, how about Wednesday?" Casey counter-proposed right away with that charming, audacious smile of his.

She chuckled under her breath, and the warmth in her cheeks was the reminder she needed to help her decide. Maybe this time there would be an actual spark, and hopefully Casey will keep his word of not getting into a fight during date night. She was actually looking forward to having another go at kissing, now that she knew roughly what to expect. "Yeah, Wednesday could be good, but can we talk about this later?" she said, pausing to listen for footsteps.

"Okay, so should I call you, or…?"

"Donnie, remember we have to meet the Lotus in two hours," they heard Leo say from the common-room.

"I know, Leo!" came Donnie's impatient reply, sounding dangerously close.

With one look, April ended the conversation.

Donnie must have been just passing by on the way to the kitchen from leaving the book in his room, because he didn't actually show up right away, but still. It was enough that they had dated in secret; arranging another one right then and there, in the lab, when Donnie was only two rooms away, felt even worse.

"How's hockey training?" she asked Casey, changing the subject to something more trivial. She couldn't blame him for not seeming entirely thrilled about it. He'd been cool enough to keep this whole situation between the two of them until she was ready, for which she was grateful.

"A nightmare." Casey huffed in reply to her question. "This punk Billy has been missing since forever. Coach is taking it out on all of us. If he doesn't show up in time, we're not gonna be able to play."

"Ugh, I know how that is," April commented. "I'm supposed to be doing a Chemistry project with this girl Janice, but she hasn't come to class in like three days, and won't even answer my emails."

"Maybe it's flu season." Casey shrugged disinterestedly.

April nodded absently and they chatted on about meaningless trivialities until a minute later Donnie reappeared through the lab doors, easily carrying two cans of Wake Up in one enormous hand, and what appeared to be a bowl of healthy, brain-stimulating snacks in the other—walnuts, mostly. He left the bowl on the table within easy reach and sat back down on his stool beside her.

He and April both grabbed a handful, but Casey took one look at the bowl full of nuts and blew a loud raspberry. "That's it? Not even some dip or anything?"

"This is brain food, Casey," Donnie said, and happily plopped a peeled walnut in his mouth. "You could use it; still got one hour to go and four pages to complete."

Casey slumped instantly as if Donnie's words were a thick lead plate falling on his shoulders. "Ugh. I wish I was a mutant turtle right now so I didn't have to take this stupid exam."

When hanging out with these two, April often felt like she was assisting a tennis match, following the ball back and forth to either side of her as they each swung ruthlessly at each other. Donnie obviously took offense to that last shot, judging by the way he straightened up on his chair, eyes wide and full of incredulity. "I'd give anything to be able to go to college and here you are completely undermining your education!"

April could testify to that: in his thirst for knowledge, Donnie had in fact compiled a series of titles through online courses. The printed-out diplomas hanging behind his desk were witness for that, and they were as official as they could get, bearing in mind the lack of a real ID or address.

"Well, that might be your lifelong dream, Donnie, but in case it wasn't obvious, it's not really mine!" Casey protested, glowering at the textbook.

"Ok, you insensitive moron, how about this?" Donnie said irritably, giving the metaphorical ball a mighty thwack back. "If you fail this semester, you're going to lose your hockey scholarship. Just like if you were a mutant turtle. April, tell him!"

April sighed, propping her head on one hand. "He knows, Donnie…" she droned, peering at Casey and the way he was pressing his lips and squinting his eyes.

"Alright, enough goofing around then. Time's a wastin', and we still got a lot to cover before going out," the turtle said, quickly opening the textbook again as if that was the answer to everything.

Unfortunately, Casey didn't seem to share the sentiment. He looked like he would rather have his fingernails pulled off with pliers than to have to touch that textbook again. "Listen, guys, how about we just call it a day? I mean I'm set for a C, definitely!" he said, feigning an expression of intense optimism, and April knew the only reason he wasn't screaming profanities was because he was so desperate to get out of there. "That's more than enough to keep my hockey scholarship."

Donnie looked about ready to head-bonk the table. "At this rate, the only C on your report card will be the one at the top of the document,  _in your first name_."

"But his first name isn't even-" April said in a bit of a slur before a nudge from Casey interrupted her.

"Dude! April! Come on!"

She took a hand to her mouth in a silent "oops". She forgot he didn't like that name, and that he'd never told the turtles. In fact, he'd told close to nobody, and she only knew because she'd seen some of his school assignments. Too late now, because the look of shock had already been slapped onto Donnie's face.

"What… wait, you mean Casey's  _not_ your first name? So what  _is_  it?" he asked.

Casey shot April a glare.

"Thanks a lot, Red!"

"Sorry," she apologized, shrinking into herself, but she couldn't help the impish smirk on her lips.

"Oooh, is it really embarrassing?" Donnie said as his mouth spread into a grin, and he started trembling with anticipation.

"Like it could be worse than  _Donatello_!" Casey mocked, saying Donnie's name like it was quite possibly the stupidest word he'd ever heard.

But Donnie did not seem at all phased by this, determination in his eyes. "So what's the problem, then? Go ahead and say it!" he challenged. "Or is the mighty Casey Jones chicken?"

"Forget it, dude. That won't work. I'm not telling you," Casey said with a look of warning at April, who decided to hereby wash her hands of the situation—although she was a kind of impressed that he was able to ignore that shot at his masculinity...

"Based on your silence, I'm betting on 'tiny and adorable'," Donnie speculated, clearly not willing to give up yet, and that seemed to do it.

"For your information, it's a thousand times manlier than any of your guys's stupid hipster names!"

"Oh, no, now you've hurt my feelings," Donnie deadpanned.

Casey seemed about to respond, but apparently had second thoughts. He crossed his arms over his chest, jaw clenched in a vow of silence.

"That's okay, don't tell me. You know I can find out on my own," Donnie said coolly.

"Yeah, right," Casey retorted, but April saw panic flash through his stubborn features. "I mean, how would you even do that?" His posture, perched at the edge of his seat, suggested he was threatening to crack Donnie's skull with his robust chin, but the effect was somewhat ruined by the slight waver of his voice.

"I'm a ninja. Basically a spy with martial arts skills. And there are  _plenty_ of places I can look. Like your student card?" Donnie stated thoughtfully, arms crossed and eyebrows high.

Then all three of them took their own glances towards Casey's backpack lying by the leg of the table.

There was a moment of silence in which Donnie's grin slowly stretched into a sneer, exchanging a look of mischief with April. She glanced to and fro at both boys sitting on either sides of her, staring down one another, and shrunk into herself in anticipation for what she knew was coming.

April gave a yelp when they attacked, both diving for the backpack at the same time. Casey managed to get to it first, but Donnie was soon on him like an octopus.

"No! Donnie, n-no!" Casey grunted, desperately trying to keep his backpack away from Donnie's quick hands, and suddenly it wasn't a tennis match anymore; it was basketball. The finals. And Donnie was the star player. The turtle broke into devilish cackles as they wrestled, a confusing tornado of limbs and curse words, as April watched from a safe distance with a mix of mild bemusement and apprehension, wondering if she should do anything about it. Of course, this sort of thing was the order of the day at the lair. Casey just happened to get the short end of the stick today.

"Okay, guys…" she droned, taking a step back when one of them—it was hard to tell who—bumped against one of the stools with a loud  _thunk_. The stool swiveled on one leg for a bit and eventually toppled to the floor. "You're going to break something." Oh, but why would they listen to her?

Donnie moved so fast that April couldn't even discern what was going on exactly. His long arms seemed near impossible to contain as they flailed constantly out of Casey's grip, until suddenly the backpack was in his hands like some sort of magic trick. Casey looked just as bewildered as she was.

"Dude, what you're doing is  _stealing_!" he threw a hand at Donnie, but Donnie dodged it with a graceful spin worthy of a Michael Jackson music video.

"Robbery is a perfectly acceptable practice in the ninja's curriculum so long as it's for a just end," Donnie said, rotating to keep his shell to Casey as the kid hopelessly tried to reach around it. "And I can't think of a juster end than this."

"Give it back, you scrawny fart!" But Casey's famous street savvy just couldn't compete with Donnie's ninja robbery skills. Maybe after this he would agree to take a few lessons from Master Splinter, April mused.

"The hell's going on?" shouted a voice behind her, and she turned around to see Raph standing at the door, looking at the scene with a lopsided grimace. His gaze landed on April in search of answers as the horseplay continued, and she merely shrugged in defeat. At this point, there was a fifty-fifty chance that Raph's intervention would either help break up the fight or just add fuel to the fire, if he decided to join the fun. April was betting on the latter.

"Raph, help! Grab him!" Casey cried, having managed to grab one strap on his backpack, but his hand was trapped under Donnie's armpit, subject to his strong armlock.

"Hold on, I gotta hear his side too," Raph said calmly, as if what was going on was a mere political debate. He waited for his brother's argument with raised eyebrows.

"Casey's-first-name-isn't-Casey-but-he-won't-say-what-it-is-so-I'm-going-to-find-out," Donnie rattled in a single breath, tipping his chin towards the backpack being held tightly against his own plastron.

"Yeah, I gotta go with Donnie on this one, Case," Raph said through a big grin, sounding really interested. April facepalmed and let out a loud, groaning sigh.

"You  _traitor_! You  _ass_ turd!" Casey spat breathlessly as Donnie's grip slowly but inexorably dragged him downwards to the floor. His face was red with rage and April wasn't finding it so funny anymore. This was starting to go a bit too far even for these guys. Time to break it up.

She raised her voice over the shouting, once again feeling like everyone's mom, "Guys, that's enough!"

"Wait, I found it!" Donnie exclaimed, whipping out a tattered wallet as he suddenly let go of the backpack, causing Casey to stumble backwards a few steps before regaining his stance and bolting towards Donnie. But the turtle had surpassed Casey in height over the last few months and no matter how much the human tugged and hopped, the wallet was always just out of his reach. Donnie's nimble fingers opened and inspected the wallet for the right card.

"Guys, stop!" April insisted, but Donnie's expression told her he had found the jackpot.

"Wait, here it is!"

"It's Arnold,  _okay_?" Casey yelled before Donnie could read the card and the scene froze like the digits on a deactivated time bomb.

"Arnold? That's the big reveal?" Raph said beside April with a look of disappointment. "I thought it was gonna be something like… I dunno, Hogarth, or Yanky."

"Eh, there's some pretty good jokes in Arnold, too," Donnie said through a satisfied smile, relinquishing the wallet back to its owner, who dejectedly snatched it out of his fingers.

Casey gave the front of his hoodie a firm yank and straightened his bandanna with a dignified huff. "If you dickheads are done making fun of me, I got things to do and scum to beat up."

April called after him, afraid he was angry for real this time. "Come on, don't be mad. They were just joking. And we're not done with  _this_ ," she said, motioning at the pile of textbooks and papers splayed out over the table.

But Casey only kept walking past Raph, picking up the backpack on the way to the exit and yanking it on. "Well,  _I_  am! I'm done with all of you and I'm done with  _that_ crap. It's not like I was making any progress anyway," he fumed, apparently not even caring that he was leaving his textbook behind.

"Casey, wait!" Donnie called, and Casey stopped and turned, waiting. April looked on, hopeful, because it looked like Donnie was ready to apologize. But his eyes narrowed… "Hasta la vista, baby." His voice came out grave and manly—aided by the still present soreness of his bruised throat—and the two turtle brothers burst in loud laughter. Casey stormed off and Raph chased after him, still cackling loudly.

April wouldn't even attempt to catch up or try to bring him back, knowing it would be no use. Before their voices faded, she turned to Donnie and stared him down with severe eyes. His laughter died almost instantly, maybe because April was putting all her pent-up frustration into that look.

"What? We were just fooling around," he said, showing her his palms.

"It was mean," she corrected seriously.

Donnie looked taken aback. "It wasn't meant to be  _mean_ , it was… We were just messing around, he always does way worse," he protested, throwing a hand towards the doors, but with a tinge of regret in his evaporating smile.

April hesitated, because her concerns went deeper than a stupid brawl between hormonal teenage boys. It wasn't easy to talk about. This little fight was just a small sample of the thing she was so afraid of: what would getting together with Casey do to their friendship?

It had seemed like a good, simple idea to finally give Casey the chance he'd been asking for since the day they met. She'd get to see if it lead to something good, and simultaneously ease her dad's concerns. That latter had backfired somewhat, but still, if Donnie wasn't an option, she couldn't think of anyone else that could be right. Granted, she barely knew anyone else outside their little clandestine group, but on the other hand she didn't want to have to hide her friendship with the turtles from anyone, much less a boyfriend, or she could end up distancing herself from them. So who better than Casey in that regard?

But now, seeing the way her two best friends got along without a relationship with Casey being an issue yet… Maybe it hadn't been such a good idea. Maybe she should put off that date...

Unable to explain to Donnie why something as silly as the same old fight would bother her so much, she started clearing up Casey's things from the table. "It's just… When you guys get like this… ugh! Seriously, you're  _friends_! You're supposed to care about each other!" she said, and turned her eyes away when she saw Donnie peering at her with a deep frown. He looked so disconcerted.

She didn't want it to show, but she couldn't help it: the future haunted her. She'd been trying not to think too much about it, but the questions wouldn't stop, and they were all sadistically inquisitive.

Her usual confident self—which was annoyingly absent as of late—would say she was a little young to be thinking about her long term love life. She wasn't even 19, for Pete's sake! But what with her dad talking about her future, and how she should start looking ahead and thinking about her career and her objectives…

And now they were going to actually  _meet_ their future face to face… It was like a  _sign_. She wondered if the others thought about these things as well.

While she was putting Casey's things into her own backpack to give them to him later, she heard Donnie's footsteps coming up behind her. "April, you know us," he said in a soothing voice, bending so he was at her eye level and she had no choice but to look at him. It managed to help her resurface from her thoughts. "Fighting is kind of our thing. Doesn't mean I don't care about him."

She searched his chocolate eyes, earnest and sincere, taking a fleeting peek into his feelings for just a fraction of an instant. What she saw left her a little more at ease, but she couldn't rest assured quite yet. After all, he still didn't know that she and Casey had gone out and were probably going to go out again.

Donnie looked between her and the exit—Casey's and Raph's yells were still barely audible from the tunnels—and visibly deflated. He scratched his neck. "Look, I'll- I'll go apologize, alright? To be honest, Arnold really is only half as bad as Donatello." He said his own name almost in the same mocking tone that Casey had used, which was kind of endearing. "I'll get him back right now and we can all keep working on this until it's time to leave," he offered kindly, motioning towards the desk full of homework.

"That's alright," April said softly, slowly loosening the knot one loop at a time. "I don't think he could take another hour of this anyway."

Donnie scoffed, exasperation back in his eyes. But now April could hear genuine concern in his voice. "He's  _got_ to get his act together or he'll never get that scholarship. And then what's he gonna do?"

"You think I don't tell him that?" She sunk down onto the stool with a long heavy sigh. As she started flipping through some pages she felt Donnie sitting down next to her.

"Don't worry, we'll try again later," he said, and it sounded like a promise. But she must not have appeared convinced, because a moment later she felt Donnie's touch on her shoulder. "I'm serious. Casey's not going to lose that scholarship if I have something to say about it! I'll chase him around with the textbook if I have to." When she smiled, Donnie continued with added fervor. "I'll hack into his phone and set up an alarm to go off every half hour and it will only shut down if he solves the equation on screen. He'll be so confused! He won't be able to hide from  _me_!"

By the end of Donnie's promise, April was laughing heartily, a huge weight lifting from her chest. She nodded, this time with honest relief.

Before she could come up with a way to thank him, he said, "Come on, let's finish these pages. That way you can pester him too. You're a lot better at it than me anyway. At least he listens to  _you_."

"Yeah, right," she chuckled sarcastically as they both sat back down at the desk and she opened her textbook while Donnie gathered all the stuff that she hadn't realized had fallen off the table during the fight.

She smiled, grateful and reassured that, despite all the teasing and bickering, Donnie cared about Casey and Casey cared about Donnie. If nothing else, the thought gave her hope that whatever she chose, they would always be there for each other. And for her.

* * *

Leo hummed in concentration and overlooked the battlefield, remembering the Sun Tzu teachings. He scanned the terrain for the optimal way across the foreign territory as his army awaited his orders. The enemy watched him and his men quietly from the other side, her own forces poised and eager for battle. He cast a careful glance at his foe and extended his hand, picking up one of the little blue marbles and moving it to the next dimple. Leaning back from the board, he waited for his turn.

"'Bout time," Karai said, making a very obvious effort to sound bored.

Leo shrugged it off and watched her take one of her red marbles and make it jump over another two, getting it half-way across the board.

He'd gotten this Chinese checkers set for their last Mutation Day, a gift from April, and this was his first game with Karai. They had been promised relative peace and quiet, Raph playing hermit in his room and Mikey busy with his video games as Donnie, April and Casey went about their study date. So, of course, roughly half an hour later a fight broke out behind the lab doors.

Leo shot a fleeting glare in said direction before placing his attention back on the board full of little marbles, intent on ignoring the rest of the world if only for a little while. Maybe they should've chosen his room, instead of the little corner by the kitchen.

So far Karai had more of her pieces in her triangle, but he had played Chinese checkers enough times to know things could still take an unexpected turn. Besides, he was playing the slow burn strategy, setting up his plan of action covertly until it was time, when it would be too late for her.

"So how are you liking the book I lent you?" he asked after a couple more turns in which he only seemingly appeared to accomplish nothing.

"It's good! The  _ninja stuff_  is great," Karai mocked, referencing their conversation a few days ago at Murakami's, when Leo had talked about  _Kōga Ninpōchō_  while pretending not to be interested in its Shakespearean love story.  _I read it for the ninja stuff, not the romance_ , he had said.

He gave a hollow laugh, then picked up one of the pieces. He'd made it over a couple other pieces before the shouting and cackling from the lab intensified, and then out came Casey, stomping his feet and yelling profanities with Raph in his wake.

"Casey, come on, we were just messing around!"

"Shut up, Raph! You guys are such assholes!"

Leo called out to his brother when he saw them head for the exit, "Raph! Don't go too far. We have to go meet the Lotus in a couple of hours."

"Yeah, yeah, I heard you before," Raph said dismissively. "Hey, Arnie, wait up!" And he followed Casey past the turnstiles until they both disappeared down the tunnels, their voices taking a while longer to fade. Leo had no idea what that had been about, and wasn't all that interested either. Same old, same old...

"Anyway," he drawled, getting back to the matter at hand. Karai had already made her move, and it was his turn again. "What were  _your_ favorite books as a kid?"

Karai shrugged. "Kids' stuff. I didn't read all this super deep stuff you read, Leo-chan."

Leo had never talked about Karai's childhood with her, so he didn't know what her home was like, her everyday family life, or if she had had any to account for. He couldn't really picture a children's library at the home of Oroku Saki, to be honest, and just the thought of him reading the adventures of Poofy Bunny to little Karai while wearing the kabuto was hilarious—and also kind of disturbing.

At any rate, she was hedging, and Leo took good note of it.

"Okay, but what were they  _about_?" he insisted, pointedly keeping the subject on literature alone.

"Who cares, they were just stupid past-times, you know, to unwind," she said, shifting in her seat like she was uncomfortable. "You gonna go or what?"

Leo smiled before making his move on the board, certain he had found a topic of discussion to use against her: just the right amount of compromising. It would seem he was getting the hang of making her nervous.

"Then why won't you tell me what they were? I told you about what I used to read."

"There are no rules saying I have to reciprocate," she said smugly, her eyes moving around the board, her resolve still tough as steel. She was going to make him take out the big guns. Fine by him.

He found there was a special kind of pleasure in making Karai nervous, probably because normally it was the other way around. The other day in the dojo, there had been many things left hanging that still haunted him even now, while partaking in the seemingly innocuous activity that was Chinese checkers. But one thing he learned: it turned out sometimes you  _could_ fight fire with fire, and he was willing to put that notion into practice.

He had a plan now, inside and outside the game board.

"You know, if you don't tell me, I'll assume it's something truly horrible..."

Karai made a noise of impatience in her throat.

"Fine," she said, then looked around the common room before leaning in over the board. "But you better take this to the grave, or I swear I'll give your mask a rainbow hippie dye."

He reeled, knowing Karai's threats were not to be taken lightly. "Alright, alright. I promise. Cross my shell and hope to die." He drew a cross over his heart and gave her a reassuring smile, happy that this was actually leading somewhere.

Karai took a deep breath. "I used to read this thing called 'Cherry Blossoms at Sunset'. Just during my free time between training sessions." Karai's voice was extremely casual as she reached for her piece, making it jump over two others and then waiting calmly for her next turn.

Leo moved his piece distractedly. "Wow. That sounds nice. What was it, like a haiku collection?"

"No…"

And since Karai didn't seem to want to continue, instead keeping her eyes on the board  _pretending_ to think, he kept asking. "Tanka? A kabuki play?"

"No and… not that I know of…"

"Then what-"

"It was manga."

Leo's eyebrows sprung up, smile spreading wider and wider as Karai shot him a quick glance before taking her eyes back to the game. But Leo could already see her resolve starting to crumble, her smug grin a little lacking.

"Was it…?"

"Shōjo," Karai admitted finally, closing her eyes, and Leo covered his mouth pretending to try not to laugh. It had the desired effect as Karai glowered.

"What? What's wrong with shōjo?" she demanded, a little too loud, and she turned around to check that Donnie and April were still immersed in their own conversation inside the lab. "Shōjo stories can be very deep!"

"Maybe," Leo said, inhaling to shake off the laughter from his body. "But they tend to be a little…"

"A little what?" she challenged, arms crossed.

"A little corny." He grinned and she scoffed.

"Oh, what do you know! Have  _you_ ever read any? Yeah, I didn't think so," she said without giving him time to answer as she moved one of her pieces across the board in five hops and got it all tucked in the farthest corner. Leo cocked his brows, impressed.

"I haven't actually read shōjo, okay," he admitted, picking up a blue marble and moving it one single spot. "But Mikey has, and he told me all about them,  _obviously_. You know Mikey."

Karai released an amused giggle. "Mikey reads shōjo?"

Leo nodded. "So yeah, the stuff he told me… It gave me  _cavities_."

"Shut up," Karai mumbled, but laughed under her breath and another marble clicked into place.

"Why? Am I making you uncomfortable?" Leo sneered.

"Don't make me laugh."

"Oh, no, I'm the one who's laughing."

Karai sighed, and suddenly she looked serious, all trace of her usual cockiness gone from her downcast eyes, hands hidden under the table.

"Look, I was a kid, and my life was kinda bizarre," she explained, and Leo felt very compelled to stop teasing her and listen, because anything having to do with her past was like a shooting star: rare and fleeting. Getting Karai out of her comfort zone, giving her a taste of her own medicine; that was his little revenge. But he had to be careful. He wanted to tease her, not make her angry.  _No one_  wanted to make Karai angry.

Well, maybe Raph…

"It was nice to imagine, you know, being a normal girl, going to school, crushing on cute guys, worrying about my grades of all things," she continued, and if he had had any hair, it would've stood on end, because as it turned out, using her own weapons against her was actually working. This new approach seemed to be offering Leo the insight that he had always strived for. He wanted to know her, wanted to dive into the vast, dark crevices of her mind, and she was leading him by the hand.

"I get it," he said truthfully, turning to a more gentle tone of voice, hoping that would coax her on. "I think Mikey likes it for similar reasons."

"And I know the stories could get extremely corny at times, yeah," Karai went on, no longer focusing on the board. "But they were a nice way to just… escape. My everyday life was already a lot like shōnen, I didn't need more of it."

He raised his hands. "It's not that shōjo is bad, it's just… I never put you down as the type. Seems so... out of character, for you," he sniggered.

Karai huffed. "See, this is why I don't tell people this."

Leo paused, because for a moment he thought he may have actually gone too far. But Karai grinned, and he felt himself full of new confidence.  _What do you know_ , he thought.

"What's the matter, Karai? Afraid to show your sweeter side?"

"I do have a reputation to maintain," she said, and in her next turn she got another piece in the triangle. She was winning.

"Hey, you have a romantic side. I kinda like it, it's nice. Even I have a romantic side," Leo said, feeling a blush coming on.

"You? Please." She rolled her eyes, and for some reason Leo wanted to contradict her on that.

"Well, what about  _Kōga Ninpōchō_?"

"I thought you only read that for the ninja stuff," Karai said, lifting one perfectly lined eyebrow.

"Well, you know… The romance stuff wasn't bad either," Leo admitted. He could swear the corners of her mouth had twitched for a second there, but she was keeping her eyes on the board.

"I also like that movie,  _Crouching Tigress, Hidden Panda_ ," he added, a part of him screaming for him to stop giving himself away.

A loud guffaw was Karai's reply. "Okay, and what does that have to do with anything?"

"That's got romance in it!"

"And kicks to the face," Karai remarked. "No, it doesn't count. Plus, everybody and their grandma has seen that stupid movie."

And as she picked up another of her marbles and made her move, Leo smiled. There it was. Leo's moment. She'd fallen right into his trap.

He let out a low chuckle that seemed to get her attention. "Well, Karai," he said slowly, and witnessed the immediate effect of his change in tone in Karai's curious little frown. "I may not be the most romantic, but I know my strategy games."

And to prove it, he straightened up, cracked his knuckles, shot Karai a smug grin for emphasis and put the last phase of his scheme into action. The plan had worked, and Karai didn't seem to have seen it coming as Leo used his and her marbles as a road for his next piece, which made it all the way from one corner of the board to the other in a single turn.

He watched Karai for a reaction, but she only stared at Leo's heroic blue marble as though mentally adding it to her black list. She used her turn and then another one of Leo's marbles followed the first. And then another, and another.

Leo's pieces were slowly making their way across the board, one by one, taking advantage of Karai's troops, and already he was ahead of her. She gave an annoyed groan at her imminent defeat, and that's when he felt his entire body tense up.

When Karai lost a game, she didn't make a fuss. She didn't yell, or throw things or say "screw it, you cheated!" like Raph would. No, Karai was a lot scarier than that. Once the game was lost, she would just stare in silence, nod her head, give a little sigh— _oh well, what are you gonna do_ —, and then you could see it in her eyes, her plan for revenge slowly unfolding inside that treacherous head of hers, for next time. And if you were lucky, that next time would be another board game, or your mask could end up the color of the rainbow.

But Leo hadn't come all this way for nothing. He was one piece away from victory.

It was Karai's turn, and she stared long and hard, eyes flickering to and fro, lips pursed in deep concentration.

"Forget it, Karai. There's nothing you can do. It's over," Leo said as tauntingly as he could muster, and was rewarded with a very slow glare. Her lips parted into a sweet smile. Suddenly he felt a primal urge to flee.

"Yes it is, but not like you think," she said, then casually picked up a red marble. Leo looked on as she hopped it around, but instead of taking it towards her own red triangle, she made it jump over his only remaining piece and the red marble took its place in the last vacant blue dimple.

"What are you doing?" Leo gasped.

Karai looked at him glumly. "I had no choice."

The very sight of red among all that blue was making him itchy all over. No, that's not how you're supposed to play!

"I don't- You... You know you can't win like this either, right?" he complained desperately. "This is as much of a tactical step back for you as it is for me! Neither of us wins!"

Karai nodded solemnly, closing her eyes and sitting back on her chair. "The important thing is I have restored my honor," she said, and the only thing missing was a black crown on her head and green fire lighting her from below.

Leo honestly didn't know what to say. He grasped for a way to make her rectify so they could finish the game, but he knew that went against her principles. So, with a sigh, he finally gave. What else could he do?

He looked her up and down, then back at his poor little hero marble standing before Karai's red infiltrator with resignation, and shook his head sadly. "Next thing you'll be setting the board on fire."

Karai gave him a level stare. "If that's what it takes…"

"You're insane," Leo laughed, even though inside he was shaking, memories of the old Karai, vengeful and terrible, flashing through his mind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What did you guys think? Wherever are we going with this?
> 
> Remember comments are writer chow!

**Author's Note:**

> Feedback is always welcome!  
> We have Queequegg and Theherocomplex to thank for their amazing beta work all throughout this fanfic.  
> And all our readers for their inspiring feedback and love. ^^


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